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Black Avatar: and Other Essays
The first nonfiction collection by internationally acclaimed writer and translator Amit Majmudar, Black Avatar combines elements of memoir, biography, history, and literary criticism.
The eight pieces in this deeply engaging volume reflect author Amit Majmudar’s comprehensive studies of American, European, and Indian traditions, as well as his experiences in both suburban Ohio and the western Indian state of Gujarat. The volume begins with the title piece, a fifteen-part examination of “How Colorism Came to India.” Tracing the evolution of India’s bias in favor of light skin, Majmudar reflects on the effects of colonialism, drawing upon sources ranging from early Sanskrit texts to contemporary film and television.
Other essays illuminate subjects both timely and timeless. “The Ramayana and the Birth of Poetry” discusses how suffering is portrayed in art and literature (“The spectrum of slapstick on one end, scripture on the other, with fiction and poetry . . . in the vastness between them”), while in “Five Famous Asian War Photographs”—a 2018 Best American Essays selection—Majmudar analyzes why these iconic images of atrocity have such emotional resonance. In “Nature/Worship,” another multi-part piece, the author turns his attention to climate change, linking notions of environmentalism to his ancestral tradition of finding divinity within the natural world, connections that form the basis of religious belief.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of these wide-ranging essays is the prose itself—learned yet lively, erudite yet accessible—nimbly revealing the workings of a wonderfully original mind.
The eight pieces in this deeply engaging volume reflect author Amit Majmudar’s comprehensive studies of American, European, and Indian traditions, as well as his experiences in both suburban Ohio and the western Indian state of Gujarat. The volume begins with the title piece, a fifteen-part examination of “How Colorism Came to India.” Tracing the evolution of India’s bias in favor of light skin, Majmudar reflects on the effects of colonialism, drawing upon sources ranging from early Sanskrit texts to contemporary film and television.
Other essays illuminate subjects both timely and timeless. “The Ramayana and the Birth of Poetry” discusses how suffering is portrayed in art and literature (“The spectrum of slapstick on one end, scripture on the other, with fiction and poetry . . . in the vastness between them”), while in “Five Famous Asian War Photographs”—a 2018 Best American Essays selection—Majmudar analyzes why these iconic images of atrocity have such emotional resonance. In “Nature/Worship,” another multi-part piece, the author turns his attention to climate change, linking notions of environmentalism to his ancestral tradition of finding divinity within the natural world, connections that form the basis of religious belief.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of these wide-ranging essays is the prose itself—learned yet lively, erudite yet accessible—nimbly revealing the workings of a wonderfully original mind.
252 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2023
About the author
Amit Majmudar
34 books110 followersAmit Majmudar is the author of The Abundance, Partitions, chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best debut novels of 2011 and by Booklist as one of the year’s ten best works of historical fiction. His poetry has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Best American Poetry 2011. A radiologist, he lives in Columbus, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 15, 2025
This book, especially the title essay, is an essential read to learn the truth about how colorism actually came to India and to debunk colonial narratives masquerading as 'social justice" and "Decoloniality", ironically.
We didn't have colorism before British Christian colonialism and Isl*mic Colonialism. In fact, we actually considered the color black to be the most beautiful color. The proof is in our ancient vedas and even in Marco Polo's writings.
Please read it to deprogram and decolonize yourself from Hinduphobia and self-hate. Especially if you claim to care about "justice". Then you should care to know the truth.
We didn't have colorism before British Christian colonialism and Isl*mic Colonialism. In fact, we actually considered the color black to be the most beautiful color. The proof is in our ancient vedas and even in Marco Polo's writings.
Please read it to deprogram and decolonize yourself from Hinduphobia and self-hate. Especially if you claim to care about "justice". Then you should care to know the truth.
May 17, 2026
My only criticism of this book is that I wish I had more of a grounding of what the author meant to cover in the first essay, "Black Avatar." As it was, with very little background in western religion much less of eastern, felt at times as if I were wandering in a formless desert. Think the moment when the author finally said what he meant to say come son pages 121 onward. Because of this structure, I started the book in February, read eleven books in between and finished in May.
I guess if he had followed the structure I suggest, he probably would not have been published in New Yorker or New York Times. Much more mysterious and impressive the way the author presents the subject.
I guess if he had followed the structure I suggest, he probably would not have been published in New Yorker or New York Times. Much more mysterious and impressive the way the author presents the subject.
May 31, 2023
Great book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews