Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Rajani: Songs of the Night (1916) is a poetry collection by Dhan Gopal Mukerji. Published while Mukerji was a young student in California, Rajani: Songs of the Night is the debut collection of poems from the first Indian writer to gain a popular audience in the United States. Lyrical and romantic, Mukerji’s poems capture his commitment to beauty while maintaining his sense of isolation and exile as a young man living far from home. In “Bhikshu’s Song,” the collection’s opening poem, the poet greets a Buddhist monk at the door, returning in memory to his native Bengal. Repeating the Bhikshu’s mantra throughout—“Om Moni Padme Om!”—Mukerji allows himself to “drift with the stream / To [his] destination of dream.” An exile, Mukerji can only reach his homeland through memory and song, by infusing English meter with the sights and sounds of Bengal. “A singer that sings of sorrow; / Whose night knows no tomorrow; / [His] song finds its source / In its moonless immensity.” Although he never returned to his native country, Mukerji left an inspiring legacy through his literary achievement and unwavering commitment to Indian independence. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Dhan Gopal Mukerji’s Rajani: Songs of the Night is a classic of Indian American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Kari the Elephant (1922) is a children’s book by Dhan Gopal Mukerji. Published the year Mukerji moved from San Francisco to New York City, Kari the Elephant is the debut children’s book from the first Indian writer to gain a popular audience in the United States. Although less popular than his novel Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon (1927), which won the 1928 Newbery Medal, Kari the Elephant is a beautiful tale of kinship between the human and animal worlds set in the lush forests of the author’s native India. “Kari, the elephant, was five months old when he was given to me to take care of. I was nine years old and I could reach his back if I stood on tiptoe. He seemed to remain that high for nearly two years. Perhaps we grew together; that is probably why I never found out just how tall he was.” Raised side by side, Kari and his handler grow inseparable through their travels in the Indian countryside. As their adventures bring them to cities, jungles, and distant lands, boy and elephant overcome danger and learn the true meaning of friendship. Although he never returned to his native country, Mukerji left an inspiring legacy through his literary achievement and unwavering commitment to Indian independence. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Dhan Gopal Mukerji’s Kari the Elephant is a classic of Indian American literature reimagined for modern readers.