Sea of poppies

SEA OF POPPIES - BY AMITAV GHOSH - My review

Sea of Poppies is a tale of some ordinary people from different walks of life whose lives unexpectedly entwine aboard a ship as they cruise towards an uncertain future, a future which seems as formidable as thier past! The story is set in 1838 in colonial India when opium trade was a huge business and poppy farming was a legitimate agricultural practice, thanks to the profit it brought to the rich zamindars & englishmen. It is amazing to know that poppies, one of the main ingredients of the drug opium is actually a beautiful innocent flower, a flower which can warp and distort the whole world! At the centre of the story is "Ibis", a ship which in its heyday was used to transport opium(read drugs) and slaves to far flung parts of the world. It is going to be used for the same purpose again with the lives of numerous people at stake.
The amazing part of this book is the careful etching of the characters.

Be it Deethi, the widow of an afeem-khor, a drug addict who could not resist the lure of the opium which he consumed to overcome the pain that his diseased body caused him. Kalua, an untouchable ox-cart owner who dared to rescue Deethi from her husband's burning pyre.

Paulette Lambert, the IBCB (Indian born confused British!!) who is more comfortable speaking Bhojpuri and wearing Saree than following the strict etiquettes of her British bred counterparts and who has spent most of her childhood with Jodu, the son of the muslim maid who raised her in a palatial bangalow on the banks of the Ganges in Calcutta. Jodu, the son of a maid who nurtures just one dream, the dream to cross the seven seas and who completely adores his munh-boli sister, the thin and lanky Paulette whom he lovingly calls Pathli.


Raja Neel Haldar, the ruling King of Rakshali who finds himself aboard the "Ibis", being transported to Kaala Paani to serve in one of its notorious prisons when he is sentenced for seven years for not being able to pay the huge debts that he inherits from his deceased father. A King whose fall from grace is so dramatic that he gets beaten up by the same Hawaldars who once guarded his palace! His close bond with Ah-Fatt, the fellow chinese convict who has his own story to tell.

Zachary, the son of an American slave and an assistant captain on the ship who is trying hard to hide his roots. His love for the wierd Ms. Paulette and the extra effort he puts in to understand the "Hinglish" that his crewmen speak!

The spiritually inclined Babu Nab Kissin who has some very strong reasons to believe that Zachary is the incarnation of Lord Krishna himself and asks him questions like, "Is your neck blue in colour?" , "Do u eat a lot of butter?", "You eyeing those slave women, huh?", much to Zachary's amusement!

Each one of these characters and the numerous others find themselves "in the same boat" heading towards a fate which is astonishing. These characters strike a bond with you and you become a part of their voyage across the ocean! I will not reveal the story as it would take away the fun of reading this book. But take it from me, the story is very promising.

This book is part one of the trilogy and Amitav Ghosh, the author has received rave reviews for it across the world. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I have noticed that most of the authors from the Asian continent use a lot of prose and play with words than their Western counterpart. Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie are the other authors who come to my mind. The one thing that really brought a smile on my face with this book was the use of Bhojpuri and "Hinglish" (Hindi + English) in the book. The use of these languages is definitely not a deterrant and you can often understand the meaning of the word from the context but for some of us who can actually follow the lingo, it is a treat!


Go for the book and see yourself aboard the giant ship, the "Ibis" and meet all the characters as they go through the excruciating journey from Calcutta to an unknown destination!
Happy reading guys! :)