One of acclaimed Tamil writer Jeyamohan’s most celebrated works, White Elephant, is now available in English in a translation by Priyamvada Ramkumar. Published by HarperCollins India, the historical novel revisits the devastating famine that struck South India in the 1870s and examines the intertwined realities of caste oppression, colonial exploitation and social apathy.
Set in 1878, the novel follows Aiden Byrne, an Irish police officer serving the British Crown in Madraspatnam. His worldview begins to change after he witnesses two labourers from the Tudor Ice Company being brutally whipped. When the labourers are later found murdered, Aiden joins Kathavarayan, a young activist, on a journey through a famine-ravaged South India.
The novel takes readers into the harsh conditions faced by workers from oppressed caste communities at the Tudor Ice Company, where massive blocks of ice imported from New England were processed for British consumption. Against the backdrop of a famine that claimed millions of lives, White Elephant explores the moral dilemmas faced by those caught within the machinery of colonial rule.
Jeyamohan said the novel emerged from his anguish over the Great Famine of the 1870s, which, he noted, left little mark on classical literature despite disproportionately affecting Dalit and other oppressed communities. He also highlights the role of colonial exploitation, feudal oppression, social apathy and rigid religious institutions in deepening the tragedy.
Translator Priyamvada Ramkumar said the Tamil original moved her profoundly and that she was drawn to its exploration of the mind of a conscientious person trapped within an oppressive system. She described the novel as a work that examines injustice and the complicities that allow it to continue, giving it a timeless and universal relevance.
Publisher Dharini Bhaskar of Fourth Estate & Perennial at HarperCollins India described Jeyamohan as a “literary giant” and said the novel offers an unflinching examination of caste, class and morality while delivering a strong critique of empire.
Jeyamohan, one of the most prolific contemporary Tamil writers, has authored more than 20 novels, including Rubber, Vishnupuram, Kotravai, Kaadu and Venmurasu, along with hundreds of short stories and several works of non-fiction.
Ramkumar has previously translated Jeyamohan’s work and was awarded a 2022 ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship and a 2023 PEN/Heim Translation Fund grant for her work on White Elephant. Her translations have appeared in publications including Granta and Asymptote.
The 344-page paperback, priced at Rs 599, was released on August 17, 2026, and is available at bookstores and online retailers.
