Sea Of Poppies Summary

In Sea of Poppies which has been “hailed as the most eagerly awaited fiction title of the year” or as an ‘epic work of exceptional beauty and power”, Amitav takes us back to India of 1838 and to the scene of opium wars and the heat and dust of India under British colonialism, which commences from ‘a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius islands on ‘an old slaving ship whose ragtag crew is made up of sailors, stowaways, convicts and the English men. The novel opens in a remote village of Deeti, the first character, introduced by Ghosh by giving a picture of Indian village life

The novel, divided into three sections of ‘Land’ ‘River’ and ‘Sea’ has different historical and social set ups and life and each has ended in a new beginning.The first section ends with the beginning of new life of Deeti, the second section ends with the beginning of new life of Neel Rattan, the insolent in particular and the third

The novelist concerned with history is beyond the traditional way of assessing events; he has to blend history with his vision and philosophy. Sea of Poppies in a sense is a unique experiment in fiction writing in which a reader can be seen floating on different levels of History, Anthropology, Travelogue or different channels of human emotions. In the present novel, Ghosh opens many floodgates of knowledge about the co-existence of different cultures, caste and creed in Indian and Britain. Ibis, the ship is a platform where different characters like Paulette, Sarang Ali, Zachary, Deeti, Kalua, Neel Rattan and Baboo Nobkissin exchange their ideas and represent different cultures and the ship and in fact the ship becomes a conglomeration of diverse cultures, tradition, customs and even religious. Ibis again becomes a distinct place which can be clear from the words of captain which are translated by Babloo