`Sea of Poppies emerged from chaos`

Shivangi Singh & Smita Mishra Subdued yet elegant ambience at the Taj’s rooftop ‘Longchamp’, a contingent of high-profile literary figures closely observing the unconventional actor Rahul Bose, who admiringly used his histrionic skills to do justice to the magnificent passages he read from ‘Sea of Poppies’, while the genial writer Amitav Ghosh smilingly looked on – it was a picture perfect moment in the world of literature. The occasion was the book launch of Amitav Ghosh’s latest, ‘Sea of Poppies’ organised by Penguin Books India. ‘Sea of Poppies’ is an epic work of exceptional beauty and power and is being cited as one of the masterpieces of twenty-first-century. Amitav Ghosh, looked resplendent in black as he entered the venue with an air of modesty and warmth around him. Soon after, Rahul Bose came, looking cool and casual in a white T-Shirt and black jeans and the two hugged each other warmly. A hush fell, when the Editor-in-Charge of Penguin Books India, Ravi Singh, took over the podium. He wished for the success of the book and outlined the background of the novel. He said, “Sea of Poppies accommodates every kind of human experience. It’s a book to lose yourself in…powered with sheer narrative energy.” At the heart of this epic saga, set in 1830 India, is a vast slave ship, the Ibis, taking indentured labourers to Mauritius. In the time of colonial upheaval, fate had thrown together a truly diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed village woman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited orphan. As they sail down the Hooghly, their old familial ties are washed away and they view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers, who will build new lives for themselves on a remote island – the beginning of an unlikely dynasty. The book is the first part of a trilogy. Amitav Ghosh was called on stage. Happiness was writ across his face as he released his latest work. “This is such a wonderful moment. As a writer, we live such subterranean lives. I see no one but my wife & family and chaos on my desk. And out of that chaos emerges a book. It’s a very moving moment for me.” He thanked Ravi Singh and fondly remembered the late Ravi Dayal, former editor-in-chief of Penguin Books India. Ghosh spotted eminent writers like Sunil Sethi and Nayantara Sehgal among the audience and thanked them for their presence at his book launch. For Rahul Bose, he had wonderful things to say, “It’s an incredible pleasure that Rahul has agreed to do the reading. He is the little brother that I never had.” Rahul Bose was equally vocal in expressing his delight on doing the reading. “I don’t feel equal to the book. It’s magnificent. Amitav is at the height of his power. I am going to try my best and fill this huge book.” This exchange of pleasantries was followed by the much-awaited book reading. The mellifluous passages with lovely flow of words, combined with Bose’s inimitable rendering skills, created magic. Everybody sat still and listened. Ghosh gave a short preamble to the passages followed by Bose’s reading. The passages were taken randomly from various parts of the novel. Humour, satire, love, and agony – every human emotion got its turn in the reading. Bose began with a passage concerning one of the main protagonists, Neel, a dreamy naïve bankrupt raja who throws a dinner on the ship. He read about a humorous incident related to Baboo Nab Kissim Panda, a superstitious East India bureaucrat. Lastly, he gave a moving rendition of a passage in which Deeti, who is rescued by the low-caste Kalua from being ‘Suttee’. The ‘twosome performance’ by the passive Ghosh and the active Bose was clearly much appreciated by the crowd. An interview with Amitav Ghosh Q. You set the novel in particular moment in history – 1830s India – set in a Bhojpuri-speaking location near Benares. How did it all originate in your head? A. The way a book comes in the mind is not easy to account. I wanted to write about immigration from the Indian point of view. We have always had the British version. I began with the earliest moment of indentures – 1830s. I read and researched and it became clear that opium was the main stay of Indian trade at that time. A fact little known today! About 150 yrs ago, India was the largest seller of drugs and the British were ‘drug-pushers’. The poison that plagued China came from India. Q. Recently, a rather ill informed writer said opium was never produced in Ghazipur where your story emerges from? A. This opium factor has always been shrouded in history. But it is there in the paper. There has been no systematic study of opium cultivation. I grew up with pioneering historians but opium factor is not highlighted. Enormous social disruption came with opium produce. In the Bhojpur heartland, people were close to their soil and it was difficult to detach them from their land, but they were forced to migrate. Q. Your novel is a dazzling exercise in linguistics – comprises a complete vocabulary of Anglo-Indian speech. Old nautical words are used. Where did this language asset come from? A. I have read Rafael Sabatini’s Captain Blood series, replete with nautical traditions. I began to look and perhaps by divine intervention I came across a dictionary by Thomas Robert (1812), where such words are used. It’s an entertaining book. The book reveals that it is sometimes necessary to use abusive words like ‘Sallah’, ‘kutta’ for enhanced effect. As for the Anglo-India words like ‘vakil’, ‘sahib’ - they are all there in English Oxford Dictionary. People ask me why I do not put such words in italics – the simple reason is they are all there in the dictionary. English was much more comprehensive in the 19th century than it is today. Q. Do your characters help in evolving the history of 1830 India? A. No, it is not like that. Historical research is the easy part. It is the stage setting. Characters come out of you. It is a hard to get to know a character, it takes years of living to understand the ways and thoughts of a character – it is like living with a friend. Characters become a part of you. And I love to stay with them. Q.Where did you come across this fundamentalism and free trade angle? A. Religion was first used by ‘opium pushers’ to create free trade in China, to force opium on the reluctant Chinese. Religion was being used as an economic ideology. People should enjoy religious fervour in private. Secular state should be free of this. Q. How long will it take to write the next two books that form the part of the Ibis trilogy? A. I am in no hurry. Writing is a long and rewarding journey. It will take some time. Ghosh also talked about his love for the ships on which his ‘Ibis’ is based. He said he mourns the passing away of shipyards in India, and yearns for the sight of the endless fleet of vessels moving across the Indian ocean. He said, “Our engagement with the sea is profoundly ruptured”. But he prophesised that India will go back to coastal traffic. Rahul Bose later referred to the book as “sensational, more humane, more funny, more sentimental (than anything he has read?).” He said that Amitav may be growing old but his writing is becoming younger. He emphatically stated “Amitav will win a Nobel Prize in the near future”. The evening ended on this optimistic note. And as we turned to go, we caught sight of the humble writer, amiably signing the books for eager admirers. We could not help but echo the wish of Rahul Bose.