Sea of Poppies : Amitav Ghosh

In the shadow of Opium

Historical fiction is that rare thing that is difficult to research, hard to put into fiction and harder still to make it gripping. Amitav Ghosh has succeeded in doing all three and more in his Ibis trilogy and the 'Sea of Poppies' is our entryway into the great world that he creates.The Ibis trilogy aims to bring alive the opium trade, from its origins in India to its eventual destination of China along the way exploring the migratory history of the Indian people across the Indian ocean. This novel in particular traces the origins of the opium trade which Ghosh himself calls 'the dirty secret of capitalism' across the towns, cities and plains of 18th century British India.

The story starts in Ghazipur on the banks of the Ganga whose fertile lands have been turned into poppy fields grown to satisfy the increasing demand of the drug in China. The British have run a trade deficit with China as they don't have anything to exchange for the enormous quantities of tea they import and have thus zeroed in on the opium trade to offset this deficit. The trade helps them both ways as they have a near monopoly on opium cultivation in eastern India which they sell in the Chinese markets at enormous profits. Of course no morality pricks them as they are doing all this in the name of free trade even as they have hypocritically banned the drug in their own country.

The story of opium is told through a diverse cast of characters who happen to end up on a slave ship called the Ibis as it set sails to Mauritius. Chief among them is Deeti who is widowed of her opium addicted husband soon after the novel begins and escapes her relatives who are hell bent on forcing sati on her. She is joined on the Ibis by Neel Rattan Haldar who is a rich landlord fallen on hard times who ends up as a convict meant for deportation. A mulatto American called Zachary Reid rides on the ship looking for adventure. The ship is also boarded by a young botanist girl called Paulette who is escaping a dreaded life in Calcutta after her father passed away. These and many others come to share the Ibis and become in the evocative words of Ghosh himself 'jahaj-bhais', a term still used by their descendants in Mauritius.

The rest of the story traces these characters as they make their way across the Bay of Bengal. Their suffering inside the ship, their almost mythical attachment to the Indian landmass and their deep sadness when they finally leave behind that land and enter the 'black water' all these are captured in a spell binding manner. The novel ends in a great big storm with Neel and his fellow convict friend attempting an escape. The next two novels in the trilogy will pick the threads from here and string together the story culminating in the opium wars.

As good a prose as it is from Ghosh it is the extent of his research that impresses the most. The details of the poppy crop, the way it is harvested and even the way it looks and its many usages are an eye opener for anybody. Also the way the opium is then processed in the factory and made ready for export is simply fascinating. The scene at the factory that vividly describes the processing of the opium as Deeti hurtles from room to room looking for her husband is one of the best written passages I have read and just this scene is worth the effort of picking up the book.

What alarms one is the extent to which opium played a role in the creation of modern India and China and also its huge impact on Britain and US. The entire Indian economy lead by its leading families and royals was driven by opium, China of course suffered immensely from the ill effects of opium and opium kicked off its 'century of humiliations'. On the other side, the English effectively ran a 'drug wielding cartel' across Asia which helped them run their empire. Even the leading American families like the Coolidges and Roosevelts amassed their wealth upon the trade so much so that the great riches of the American east coat were built upon the opium trade. Even more alarming is the fact that this story of opium has completely vanished from public memory across the world and more so in India. Hence kudos to Ghosh for bringing alive this forgotten page of world history.

The language of the novel is another fascinating aspect of it. The pure well of the queen's English is mixed with a plethora of words from Hindustani, so you have the pleasure of finding words like 'khidmatgars', 'tankh-wah', 'afeem-khor' and 'Kaala paani' among others including quite a few imaginary expletives. Add to these the words of the sea faring sailors or lascars and you have a fascinating cacophony of words and languages.

All in all, the sea of poppies makes for a gripping read and tells the story of opium that needs to be told in a world that is very much it's creation but has sadly and dare we say conveniently forgotten it.