"She looked at the seed as if she had never seen one before, and suddenly she knew that it was not the planet above that governed her life: it was this minuscule orb - at once bountiful and all-devouring, merciful and destructive, sustaining and vengeful. This was her Shani, her Saturn."
Sea of Poppies by Jnanpith awardee Amitav Ghosh is a fictionalized account of that part of history involving the opium trade, as seen through the eyes of those at the bottom end of the trade: the farmers, zamindars and the crew on the trading ship. In essence, this novel encapsulates the far-reaching ramifications of human actions motivated by the lure of power, the desire to dominate the hold over precious resources on earth. These resources were different at different points in time. History repeats.
While a few incidents could be triggering, on the whole I feel happy and proud that this came from India. Set in the early 19th century colonial India, a story woven into such scale and grandeur involving migration - propelled by desperate circumstances for some while imposed on others by authority, a story portraying some of the vast cultural milieu of those times, replete with traditions, myths, superstitions and discrimination deserves all the praise and accolades. The depth-and-breadth of research that can go into a work of fiction is fascinating. Mr Ghosh has not only produced a rollercoaster of events but also presented the power dynamics that reflect through the colorful languages and myriad expressions (bodily and verbal) of the diverse characters - American sailors, British masters, Indian royalty, North Indian farmers, sailors from across the Indian Ocean among several others from unexpected quarters.
I recommend the book even for beginners. Inspite of the 500 odd pages, it's an easy read if one has a desire to learn the ways of life of people across different walks. I appreciate that most of the humor lies in the irony of the situations to justify the intense plotline and yet a very small part is superbly comedic, rendered through the character Baboo Nob Kissin Pander.
Interestingly, this book being shortlisted, lost the Man Booker Prize in 2008 to The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. The Longlist also had Salman Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence. (I'm yet to read both) It was a year for Indians at the Booker's 🏆🙂
This saga is for the traveler in us 🎒 🛳 With a balanced blend of themes and an immersive story-reading experience, the only disappointment is that it is only a part of the Ibis trilogy and ends before the voyage is complete.
What other books of Amitav Ghosh do you recommend and why ?
