"In terms of translation from Gujarati to English, there is, among other shortages, a lack of poetry collections, commercial/genre fiction, writers who are women, and diaspora writers," writes critic Shalvi Shah.
The memoir of a Parsi 'Tommy' from Navsari, Gujarat, reflects his investment in the power of the British empire but also his pride in history and myths located in the pre-Arab Persian empire, and an empathetic view of the Ottoman empire.