The Indo-Caribbean identity exists at a unique crossroads between cultures, one that honors its Indian roots while simultaneously having become something distinctly Caribbean. Indians first arrived in the West Indies in the mid-19th century as Indentured Laborers. They became the new avenue for cheap labor after the British Empire abolished slavery. These Indians brought with them their music, their dance, their foods, and more. Today, almost two centuries later, we see these aspects of Indian culture woven into the fabric of Caribbean identity, particularly in countries like Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, etc. We would like to shed some light on this vibrant community by offering a list of five books written by authors of Indo-Caribbean roots.
Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture by Gaiutra Bahadur
Gaiutra-Bahadur’s Coolie Woman is a deeply personal, yet profoundly resonant, history of the Indo-Caribbean story. Bahadur traces her ancestry through her Great-Grandmother’s 1905 journey aboard a ship called the Clyde. Bahadur’s Great-Grandmother, like many other “Coolie” Women who made the treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, was pregnant when she boarded the Clyde and gave birth aboard the ship. Bahadur gives important context to the word that many Indo-Caribbean people have grown to identify with, “Coolie”, shedding light on its derogatory origins and its reclamation by Indo-Caribbeans in the modern age. Coolie Woman gives much needed historical context to the Indo-Caribbean identity and how it has evolved in a West Indian context but also, in an American one.
A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl by Nanda Reddy
Guyanese-American Nanda Reddy’s debut novel A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl tells a harrowing tale of a young girl’s resilience as she assumes multiple identities to survive. Main character, Maya, is living her dream life with her husband and two sons in an Atlanta suburb until she receives a letter in the mail addressed to someone named Sunny. The dream life she has built for herself begins to come apart as this letter from her long-lost sister threatens to reveal the truth of Maya’s real name, her childhood in Guyana, and the traumas she endured upon immigrating to Miami.
Reddy takes us on a tumultuous journey as we see Maya’s childhood memories unfold: being ripped from her family as she is sent on the “backtrack” to America at 12-years old, the abuse she endures upon arrival, her fight to not only survive but, to carve out a life for herself that is truly her own. In her debut novel, Reddy challenges her readers to confront some of the harsher realities of the immigrant experience — the isolation, the loss of identity, and the reshaping of it.
Two Times Removed edited by Tiara Jade Chutkhan
Two Times Removed is a fiction anthology curated and edited by Tiara Jade Chutkhan, an Indo-Caribbean Canadian author. Chutkhan’s goal in publishing this anthology was to uplift Indo-Caribbean voices in literature. This collection hosts stories written by writers from both the U.S. and Canada, speaking to the nuances and complexities of the Indo-Caribbean identity in a North American context — an identity “twice removed” as it is impacted by not one, but two migrations: from India to the West Indies and then, from the West Indies to countries like the U.S. and Canada.
In her dedication, Chutkhan writes, “For the Indo-Caribbean community that never saw themselves in books, magazines, TV shows and movies,” and “For the Indo-Caribbean men and women who have struggled with their identity”. This collection is intended to be an avenue for a community that often finds itself falling between the cracks of multiple intersecting cultural identities to feel visible and represented.
Waiting for a Name by Elizabeth Jaikaran
In this collection of poetry, Elizabeth Jaikaran delves into themes of diaspora, identity, home, and more. Waiting for a Name reads in some ways as a love letter to Jaikaran’s own community in Queens, NY, and to the identities that have shaped her. Jaikaran experiments with structure and language in her poetry as she intermingles standard English with the Guyanese Creole spoken in many West Indian homes and toys with formatting and layout in various poems. Jaikaran employs her creativity to explore the complexities of being a Guyanese Muslim Woman from Queens in a way that is profoundly resonant for her readers.
Each of these authors uses their pen to explore the intricacies of cultural identity, the trials of displacement, and the resilience of their communities. These four books are excellent starting points for anyone interested in delving into the nuances of Indo-Caribbean culture and history.
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