Mad About Cuba: A Malayali Revisits the Revolution (Penguin Random House)

*Mad About Cuba* (Penguin Random House, 256 pages, INR 399)

In 1982, when Ullekh N.P. was still a young schoolboy in Kerala, he first came across Cuba and Fidel Castro in political discussions at home and on the streets. Kerala’s active communist movement and high literacy rates had made Castro a recognizable name in the state, and Cuba was idolized as a repository of ‘communist’ values.

While growing up in the north Kerala district of Kannur―a bastion of Marxist politics―Ullekh delved into Cuba’s history, culture, literature and political legends in Leftist journals and through Malayalam translations of Cuban works. The great strides the tiny Caribbean nation made in biotechnology, public health, pharmaceuticals and agriculture despite American sanctions were seen as a testament to the power of public-sector-led growth.

Ullekh was finally able to travel to Cuba in 2023 on a journalist visa. Mad About Cuba documents his visit and observations. Through conversations with senior bureaucrats, scientists at Cuba’s fabled pharma research institutes, youth beginning their careers, students and many others, he paints an intimate and objective picture of the nation that has managed to withstand American sanctions for over six decades.

Will the Revolution endure? What does the future hold for this island? How will its remarkable transcontinental bond with Kerala pan out? This wonderfully written book attempts to provide answers.

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Comments about the book:

“Ullekh has written a highly readable and perceptive book about Cuba. As a Malayali, brought up on the lore of Fidel and Che, he is deeply empathetic to the Cuban revolution and the Cuban people. At the same time, he is clear-eyed about the serious challenges faced by Cuba, which is relentlessly sought to be suffocated by its imperialist neighbour.”

—Prakash Karat, Former General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist)

“Ullekh N.P. takes us on an enchanting journey from his childhood in Kerala, an Indian state distinguished by a fascination with Cuba, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, to contemporary Cuba. From the peaceful green lawns of the Hotel National, he rides a classic car through the restaurants and bars of Havana and visits the famous tobacco fields of Pinar del Río where he learns how to roll a cigar. On the way, he speaks to scientists, government officials, taxi drivers and street sellers, intertwining his observations with historical background and political analysis to capture the complexity, contradictions and achievements of Cuban development since the Revolution of 1959. And inevitably, we hear about the pervasive presence of the US blockade. Beyond that, the author provides a fascinating perspective of the bonds between Cuba and Kerala, from political commitments to culinary tastes and the climate.”

—Dr Helen Yaffe, senior lecturer, University of Glasgow, and author of We Are Cuba!: How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World and Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution

“A very enjoyable and informative text that is honest and accurate in its portrayal of the strengths and weaknesses of Cuban society, of the contradictions of Cuban politics and of the responses, positive and critical, of its resilient and fun-loving people.”

—Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor of International Relations and Global Politics, University of Delhi