The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India

Some of these other reviews make me laugh. Would it be better had Jaffrey assumed the role of cultural anthropologist ala Serena Nanda and written an "anthropological" treatise on the role of hijras in Indian culture, their meaning, their context, blah blah blah? No. She presumes nothing and gets closer to the "other" than Nanda ever did. Nanda doesn't even scratch the surface, she just has the prestige associated with anthropologists who go there first, meet these people first, get the reality behind the actual life of some relative cultural oddity. Nanda's book is full of conjecture and Western psychology. She includes next to nothing about the long history of eunuchs in Muslim culture- hmm, wonder why hijras exist in the north of India and not so much in the south? She never even goes over the etymology of the term hijra. Jaffrey assumes nothing and writes an utterly honest, genuine book from the standpoint of human. Her book is incredibly informative, though lacking in some respects- more theoretical discussion of gender would have been interesting. I don't mean to knock Nanda too much, but her book is lacking personality compared to Jaffrey's, and after twelve straight hours of research- much of it concerning the development and history of hijras in Muslim culture- I'm entitled to complain. Like it or not, Jaffrey embodies the new form of ethnography. I'm giving it five stars to make up for some other reviewers.

The Invisibles was an extremely enjoyable and educational look at a topic rarely even discussed in Indian society. "Hijras" are a common sight in most major cities of India and they occupy a place in society where they are both feared and detested. Ms. Jaffrey has a lively writing style that makes for a story that is both informative and enjoyable. However,the task of dealing with a topic on which there is very little prior research is daunting, and Ms. Jaffrey's story sometimes wanders into too many directions. What she provides is an excellent snapshot of some specific "hijra" groups, and an overview of a very complex social system within the larger complex social system of India.