"The Jarawas of the Andamans" by Ratan Chandra Kar offers a captivating perspective on the tribal life of the Jarawas. The book delves into intriguing tales and provides detailed insights into the tribe's customs and habits. Dr. Kar, who actively aided the tribal community through medical care, shares his extensive interactions with them throughout the narrative.
Approximately 60% of the book is engaging and enjoyable to read, while the remaining content delves into the medical history of the tribe and the geographical aspects of their forest habitat. It would have enhanced the book's depth if the author had included the tribe's relationship with technology and their perspectives on it.
The book's writing style is straightforward, although occasional grammatical errors can be found. However, these errors do not significantly hinder the book's ability to convey its message effectively.
If you have visited the Andaman Islands as a tourist, reading this book can alter your perspective on the Jarawas, encouraging you to view them as fellow humans rather than treating them as the exotic inhabitants of a tourist attraction.
Recommended to me by someone who I knew who is deeply passionate about the Jarawas. This book is very informative and could have been a masterful guide to this rather mystical tribe. However, it's clear that the author by profession isn't a writer and there hasn't been much (if at all any) editing or proofreading that has gone into the final product.
Part Diary, part scrapbook and part essay collection , at times this book reads like a thesis submitted in a hurry by a graduate student. It collects the experiences of the author in his capacity as a Govt appointed Doctor to the negrito tribe, the "Jarawas" of the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Perhaps it is the fault of the translator that the book contains many a sentence with a weird and very convoluted structure. For instance, there are multiple places where the author/translator must have meant "a few" or "a little" but used "few" or "little". And owing to the nature of the subject, at times the book is repetitive and just a plain recital of facts.
Notwithstanding all the above, the book gives great information on the indigenous peoples of the Andamans.