Caste and Outcast

Asian America

by Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Gordon Chang (Editor), Akhil Gupta (Editor)

A person of rare talent and broad appeal, Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890-1936) holds the distinction of being the first South Asian immigrant to have a successful career in the United States as a man of letters. As the author of two dozen published volumes of poetry, drama, fiction, social commentary, philosophy, translations, and children's stories, Mukerji was a pivotal figure in the transmission and interpretation of Indian traditions to Americans in the first several decades of the twentieth century. This reissue of his classic autobiography Caste and Outcast , with a new Introduction and Afterword, seeks to revitalize interest in Mukerji and his work and to contribute to the exploration of the South Asian experience in America. Originally published in 1923, this book is an exercise in both cultural translation and cultural critique. In the first half of the book, Mukerji draws upon his early experiences as a Bengali Brahmin in India, hoping to convey to readers "an intimate impression of eastern life"; the second half describes Mukerji's coming to America and his experiences as a student, worker, and activist in California. Mukerji's text, written in an engaging personal style, is the kind of ethnographic writing that seeks to render intelligible and familiar the unfamiliar and the exotic. Gordon H. Chang's substantial Introduction locates the story of Caste and Outcast within the larger context of Mukerji's life, tracing the author's personal history and his connections to such major figures as Jawaharlal Nehru, M. N. Roy, Van Wyck Brooks, Roger Baldwin, and Will Durant. The Afterword, by Purnima Mankekar and Akhil Gupta, examines the ways in which Mukerji stretches the limits of the autobiographical genre and provides a counternarrative to the dominant nationalist account of American society.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

277 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 1923

About the author

Dhan Gopal Mukerji was an author of children's books. Born in a small village in India on July 6, 1890, he was passionate about bringing understanding of the Indian people and culture to American readers through his own unique brand of expressive and poetic language.

In 1936, the driven yet unhappy Dhan Gopal Mukerji took his own life, in New York City. He was forty-six years of age.

Dhan Gopal Mukerji's most enduring contribution to literature is "Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon". Written in 1927, the American Library Association awarded this book the 1928 John Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Alana Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the autobiography of the author and is told in 2 parts. The first part is so wonderful to read as he remembers his family and home in India and his experience as a Brahmin. There is a beauty and preciousness to his descriptions - not just the physical descriptions - but the way that he presents his relationship with his family and how they live their days together. He presents the people he meets wonderfully and the reader can feel the longing that he has for this time of his life. And how he loved his family.

The second part of the books, Mukerji is grown and leaves for the US, landing in San Francisco. He attends UC Berkeley, but doesn't spend much time describing his experiences except to indicate a sense of boredom. He barely scrapes a living while he attends school for year and spends his free time with "thinkers" - a group of vagabonds (not students) who variously claim to be anarchists and socialists. They all read tremendously and discuss various philosophies as they disavow capitalism and money. The descriptions in this section (of his work and friendships) and his search for the meaning of life are more journalistic, not as sensitive, but still quite interesting. There could have been much more.

But it is so clear from the changes in the sections that Mukerji longs for India.

[Knautiyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dhan Gopal Mukerji was the first Indian author to write for an American audience. With his popular and critically acclaimed nonfiction as well as his writing for young adults, which included a novel that won the 1928 Newbery Medal for children’s literature, he sought to interpret Indian culture and spirituality for a Western Civilization he felt sorely needed these ideas. In Caste and Outcaste, his landmark 1923 autobiography, a 33-year-old Mukerji sought to explain the lessons of his Indian childhood and his first impressions of an America that simultaneously intoxicated and disappointed him. In a culture where Aziz Ansari, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Hasan Minhaj occupy such prominent places in the National dialogue, it can be easy to forget that there was a time not so long ago in which Indian-American voices were not deemed important enough to mediate their own experience to the wider world. Essential reading from a writer to whom we all owe much.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating tale of a Brahmin's travels around India, and then going from the revered caste to an outcast when he heads to America to study.