Salil Tripathi’s The Gujaratis: A Portrait of a Community offers a sweeping, immersive plunge into the lives of 60 million Gujaratis in India and another 6 million thriving in the diaspora. In this work, Tripathi has set out on an intriguing quest to unravel “Gujaratiness”—that intoxicating cocktail of pride, entrepreneurial hustle, and deep-seated contradictions.
Tripathi’s exploration of the Gujarati spirit, identity, and way of life: from the way they think, where they live, and even how they eat, pray, play, and kill, is beyond remarkable.
He chronicles the Gujarati saga across millennia, from the ancient mariners of Somnath and Lothal, braving monsoon winds to trade with distant shores, to the modern diaspora running motels along American highways or steering corporate behemoths like Tata and Reliance. The book is presented in 12 parts, with a whopping 87 chapters.
This meticulously curated archive is bursting with cultural treasures: the melodic flow of Gujarati dialects, the frenetic swirl of garba dances, and the spiced chaos of fafda and jalebi.
Tripathi has a journalist’s sharp eye for detail and a native’s intuitive grasp of nuance. He brings the community to life in vivid, almost cinematic detail. The book delves into the lives of various communities. Parsis, Khojas, Jains, Hindus, Memons, Lohanas—they all get their moment, showing the diversity that holds this community together.
What sets this work apart is Tripathi’s unflinching honesty. He doesn’t merely polish the Gujarati trophy case; he pries it open to expose the cracks beneath the shine. He walks you through Gujarat’s past— Mughals, Shivaji’s raids, British rule, the state forming along language lines—and doesn’t hold back on the tough stuff.
He grapples with the communal riots that left Gujarat bloodied in 2002, delving into the scars they etched on the state’s social fabric. He probes the rigid caste hierarchies that persist despite economic leaps, and the marginalization of Dalits and Muslims in a region often hailed as a developmental poster child.
Yet, for all its brilliance, the book is not without its flaws.
At 744 pages, it’s a marathon that tested my endurance. The sheer volume is staggering, and the detailed information was a bit too much. Tripathi’s passion burns bright, but a bit of restraint and firmer editing hands would have made the experience more pleasurable. The prose, at times, lingers too long on themes, making the narrative repetitive and redundant.
Tripathi’s insider-outsider perch—he’s a Gujarati who’s lived in London and beyond—lends him a unique vantage, but it also tilts the frame. His liberal sensibilities bleed into his analysis, particularly when unpacking Modi’s ascent or Gujarat’s development narrative.
The critique carries a whiff of personal ideology. As a reader, I would have appreciated a more neutral stance, a tighter leash on his leanings and ideologies.
In the end, The Gujaratis is a brilliant, imperfect book—full of vitality, a little exhausting, but worth the effort if you’re willing to stick with it. It is history, memoir, and journalism rolled into one, offering a sharp take on a community that’s left its mark on India and the world while wrestling with its own flaws. If you’re curious about what makes Gujaratis who they are, it’s a journey worth taking.
Rating 3.5/5
Review author: Chandra Sundeep is an author, blogger, and book reviewer. Her short stories have been featured in various anthologies, online portals, and literary magazines. In 2023, she received the Bharat Award, recognizing her dedication to impactful storytelling. Additionally, she has been a recipient of esteemed awards such as the Asian Literary Society’s Sagar Memorial Award, Wordsmith Award, and Gitesh-Biva Memorial Award in 2021 and 2022.