Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
"Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh is the first book in a trilogy that intricately weaves together the lives of diverse characters against the backdrop of the opium trade and the socio-political upheaval of 19th-century India. Set just before the First Opium War, the narrative revolves around the ship Ibis, originally a slave ship, which becomes a vessel for indentured migrants and prisoners. Key characters include Deeti, a grieving widow and opium grower, who escapes from her oppressive fate with the help of Kalua, a low-caste ox-driver. Their journey intertwines with that of Zachary Reid, a mixed-race sailor whose ascent in rank aboard the Ibis reflects the complexities of identity and social hierarchy.
The story also follows Raja Neel Rattan Halder, a member of the landed gentry facing financial ruin, and Paulette Lambert, a young woman yearning for independence from her stifling life. As the characters embark on their voyage filled with hope and desperation, they confront both personal and collective challenges aboard the ship. The novel explores themes of love, resilience, and the harsh realities of colonialism through the interconnections of its richly drawn characters, culminating in a dramatic and tumultuous journey.
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Subject Terms
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
- Born: July 11, 1956
- Birthplace: Calcutta, India
First published: 2008
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: 1838
Locale: Mauritius; Calcutta, India; Benares, Ghazipur, and other towns along the Hooghly River in India
Principal Characters
Deeti (Aditi), mother of a child and a recent widow
Kalua (Madhu), ox-driver and occasional wrestler of low caste
Chandan Singh, brother of Deeti’s late husband and father of Deeti’s child
Zachary Reid (Zikri Malum), mixed-race son of a freed slave
Benjamin Brightwell Burnham, owner of Burnham Bros. Shipping Company
James Doughty,ship’s pilot in Calcutta
Serang Ali,middle-aged leader of mercenary lascar sailors aboard the Ibis
Bhyro Singh,an overseer
Raja Neel Rattan Halder,landed royalty and deeply in debt
Elokeshi, Neel’s mistress and a former dancer
Rani Malati,Neel’s wife and the mother of their child
Azad Naskar (Jodu), a young boatman and childhood friend of Paulette
Paulette Lambert (Putli; Puggly), orphan who lives with the Burnham family
Mr. Chillingworth,new captain of the Ibis
Jack Crowle, first mate of the Ibis
Baboo Nobokrishna Panda,Burnham’s agent
Ma Taramony, Baboo’s late spiritual advisor
Lei Leong Fatt (Ah Fatt; Aafat), a Chinese opium addict, Neel’s cellmate
Munia, Heeru, Sarju, Champa, Ratna, and Dookhanee, female indentured migrants aboard the Ibis
The Story
A nautical novel Sea of Poppies is the initial installment of a trilogy to be completed in 2015. A group of seemingly unconnected individuals from all walks of life are slowly entwined through carefully crafted incidents of fate and circumstance as they alternately follow the paths that lead toward the ship Ibis, a former slave ship outfitted for the opium trade. With all principals finally aboard, the vessel sets sail from India toward the west just before the start of the First Opium War (1839–42) between England and China.
The first of these individuals is Deeti, a subsistence-level opium grower. Her sickly, addicted husband Hukam works for a British opium factory. When Hukam dies, Deeti is supposed to commit suicide by becoming a sati, a widow who throws herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. However, massive low-caste ox-cart driver Kalua rescues her from the flames, and they escape downriver on an improvised raft. Deeti and Kalua will bond as a couple—she becomes pregnant by him—before they board the Ibis as indentured migrants.
A second major character is Zachary Reid, the light-skinned son of a freed slave from Baltimore. Reid sails for India aboard the Ibis. During the voyage east, several of the ship’s officers perish, and Reid moves up in rank thanks to the help of Serang Ali, leader of the lascar mercenary sailors. Reid and Serang Ali—whose past may include a stint as a pirate—are shipmates when the refurbished Ibis sails west from India for Mauritius with a cargo of migrants and prisoners.
Another narrative thread within the novel’s tapestry is that of Raja Neel Rattan Halder, an upper-caste member of the landed royalty who has fallen on hard times. Through the machinations of British shipping and opium magnate Benjamin Brightwell Burnham, Neel loses his possessions, is branded a criminal for not repaying his debts, and is imprisoned aboard the Ibis, bound for a sentence of hard labor in Mauritius. His cellmate on the ship is Ah Fatt, a Chinese opium addict, and their destinies intertwine.
Paulette Lambert, the pretty, teenage daughter of late French botanist Pierre Lambert, provides another apparently unrelated story. Childhood friend of river boatman Jodu, she was absorbed into the wealthy Burnham household after her father died. Stifled at the stuffy, upper class Burnham estate, Paulette dreams of starting anew and conspires with Jodu—who wants to become a real sailor—to voyage in disguise to Mauritius aboard the Ibis.
Another person who figures prominently is the middle-age Baboo Nobokrishna Panda, a devout pilgrim of his late spiritual advisor Ma Taramony. Baboo is a multitalented Burnham employee and is responsible for the indentured migrants aboard ship, but he believes his higher calling is to build a temple to Ma Taramony.
Slowly and by divergent paths, the main participants gather on the Ibis where Captain Chillingworth, first mate Jack Crowle, and second mate Zachary Reid hold the power and influence. An omen of future troubles occurs when the ship’s cat Crabbie deserts to another boat before the voyage begins.
Problems soon erupt. Not long after the ship sets sail, several passengers jump overboard and drown. A fierce storm blows up and causes widespread seasickness, and a number of passengers people die. A dying migrant woman gives ganja (cannabis) seeds, datura (a poisonous intoxicant), and opium poppies to Deeti so she can grow the plants on Mauritius.
Conflicts between passengers quickly turn more serious. Cruel overseer Byhro Singh and sadistic first mate Crowle torment Neel and Ah Fatt, and Ah Fatt vows revenge. Kalua, attempting to defend Deeti from Bhyro Singh’s abuse, is tied to the mast and flogged. But Kalua bites through the ropes and kills Bhyro Singh. The passengers riot. Ah Fatt breaks free and stabs Crowle to death. Serang Ali, Jodu, Neel, Ah Fatt, and Kalua steal a longboat and row away together, while Paulette, Baboo, Deeti, Zachary, and the remainder of the passengers watch from the deck of the Ibis.
Bibliography
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Chakraborty, Bidish, and Sarmistha De. Calcutta in the Nineteenth Century: An Archival Exploration. New Delhi: Niyogi, 2014. Print.
Dormandy, Thomas. Opium: Reality’s Dark Dream. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale UP, 2012. Print.
Fay, Peter Ward. Opium War, 1840–1842: Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century and the War by Which They Forced Her Gates. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1998. Print.
Hanes, W. Travis, and Frank Sanello. The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2004. Print.
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