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Sudhir Kakar is a distinguished psychoanalyst and the author of many works of nonfiction. He cotranslated, with Wendy Doniger, Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra. His critically acclaimed novels, The Ascetic of Desire and Ecstasy, have been translated into several languages around the world. He lives with his wife, who is also a writer, in Goa, India.

It is 1925 and India’s struggle for independence is in disarray, impeded by factionalism among its leaders and rising incidents of unrest across the country. Meanwhile, having withdrawn himself from active politics, Mahatma Gandhi is in an ashram immersed in what he considers the most important undertaking of his life—the creation of a community that is wholly dedicated to the highest standards of self-discipline, tolerance, and austerity.

Into this world comes a young British woman named Madeline, the daughter of a British admiral. Madeline has set her heart on becoming Gandhi’s greatest disciple. Madeline’s wish to serve him soon becomes an all-consuming desire to be near him at all times. Because her adoration of the great teacher is in direct conflict with his exacting moral and spiritual codes, Gandhi struggles with wanting to distance himself from her, yet wanting not to let go of her love and friendship.

Using words preserved in their letters and diaries, and drawing on the reminiscences of others, the author has created a compelling fictional narrative based on the extraordinary friendship that lasted over two decades between these two people.

To learn more about the author, Sudhir Kakar, go to www.sudhirkakar.com. 

Library Journal

Novelist and psychoanalyst Kakar (Ecstasy ) successfully employs letters, diaries, and autobiographical accounts to craft this semifictional account of Mohandas Gandhi's platonic relationship with Madeline Slade, a young British woman who leaves her privileged life as an admiral's daughter and becomes one of Gandhi's foremost disciples. In 1925, against the backdrop of India's struggle for independence, Madeline-or Mira, as Gandhi later renames her-joins the spiritual leader's ashram in Gujarat. Mira's Hindi teacher, Navin Prasad, narrates the "factional" story of love and friendship that develops between Gandhi and his disciple. Navin's account of Mira's emotional and spiritual motivations for surrendering to Gandhi are the novel's strongest elements. Where Navin's narrative-and hence, the novel-falls short, however, is in portraying Gandhi's side of the story. Did Kakar's imaginative resolve just fail, or was he being respectful of the Mahatma's image? Either way, Gandhi's intentions toward Mira are never clear, and Kakar's insertion of a tangential story about Mira's infatuation with Indian revolutionary Prithvi Swingh further detracts from this account of an obviously complex relationship. Recommended only for large fiction collections.-Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis