Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies: A Transnational Diaspora from Roots and Routes
Author Name
Dr. Anita Sharma
Author Address
Associate Professor
Govt. College Theog
Shimla (H.P)
Email:
[email protected]
Ph.09816030711/ 01772830711
Keywords
: Narrative, migration, Diaspora, ethos, historical, grimitiyas
Abstract
Amitav Ghosh’s epic novel Sea Of Poppies is one of the best narratives of migration where a transnational Diasporas mobilizes a collective identity of people dissolving their essential ethos and milieus. He is one of the most prominent names in Indian English Writing today. His impressive oeuvre from The Circle of Reason to the latest novel River of Smoke has ensured him a permanent place in the hall of literary fame. The immigrants during early nineteenth century sets forth in seeking new routes towards their assumed bright future, leaving behind their historical roots. The story depicts trauma and helplessness of people in the wake of colonial upheaval when people were forcibly compelled to turn over their fields to opium production in north India. That was the time of enormous social, political and economic disruption and displacement in large parts of India. Historically the novel is set just prior to the opium wars revolving around the illegal trade taken up by British authorities between India and China. Ghosh depicts an era of agricultural scandal: burgeoning western demand for profitable but inedible crops which is causing starvation in the subaltern world till date. The novel reveals the damage done by British devastation which has given birth to the culture of grimitiyas and has reeked upon the Indian Socio-economic conditions at large.
Conference
International Conference on "Global Migration: Rethinking Skills, Knowledge and Culture"