Mithu Sanyal: Identitti (Identitti)

The latest addition to my website is Mithu Sanyal‘s Identitti (Identitti). The book is narrated by a German-born blogger (Polish mother, Indian father), Nivedita Anand, who talks to Kali (the goddess) in her blog about racism, identity politics and related issues, Her mentor, to whom she is devoted, is Saraswati who teaches and writes about these issues. Shortly after giving a radio interview about her blog she learns that the supposed Indian Saraswati (who had banned whites from her classroom) is, in reality white. Much of the book is about the fallout from this and involves discussions with Saraswati, her brother and her female lover, Nivedita, her cousin Priti and Kali, as well as the reactions of the rest of the world (including Modi and Trump!). Sanyal raises a a whole host of important issues on the various related topics and successfully in this book manages to treat them seriously while, at the same time, mocking both sides of the debate and telling an interesting story about the fallout of an Indian guru turning out to be white, the effect on her and those close to her and how the world reacts.

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