Amitav Ghosh looks back to weave new seafaring novel

By Tony Tharakan

NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) - More than 20 years after writing his first novel, Indian writer Amitav Ghosh is still drawing on his favorite subjects of history and anthropology to weave his stories.

His latest work, "Sea of Poppies", is set against the backdrop of the opium trade in eastern India and tells of sailors, convicts and indentured laborers on board the Ibis, a ship headed to Mauritius in 1838.

Ghosh, 52, said he took up sailing to better understand a life at sea. He spoke to Reuters in a New Delhi recently while in town to launch his new book.

Q: Your novel is about migrants from India in the 19th century. What made you choose this theme?

A: "There's a certain number of novels written by people whose parents or grandparents were indentured. (V.S.) Naipaul himself, his family left India as indentured workers some generations ago.

To me, what was very poignant was what did it mean for these people to leave. Because India is one of those countries where for people to leave, historically, was not an easy thing. There was this fear of (crossing the) waters.

What did it mean for these people, farmers living in the deep interior of the country, who had never seen the sea. For them to get into a ship and cross the ocean, it's a kind of heroism."

Q: Why did you choose the opium trade as the backdrop? Was it meant to be a criticism of colonialism?