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Ecological Aspects in Amitavghosh's Sea of Poppies

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Ecological Aspects in Amitavghosh's Sea of Poppies INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056 Ecological aspects in AmitavGhosh’s Sea of Poppies Mrs.J. Jesintha Ph.D Research Scholar (University of Madras Chennai-600 005.) Department of English Guru Nanak College (Autonomous) Guru Nanak Salai,Velachery Chennai-600 042. [email protected] Abstract: This research paper highlights the ecological aspects of Amitav Ghosh’s novel, “Sea of Poppies.” Ghosh’s novel shows the effect of the rapidly changing environment. This novel shows the changes in Nature which reflect the changes in society. This also highlights that man and environment are attached parts of Nature. The ecological union between man and environment is everlasting. His characters bring out the individual responsibilities about the environment. Ghosh creates awareness among the readers to preserve the rich natural resources of our Nation. Ghosh shows that Nature is composed of both the constructive and destructive ecological aspects. Ghosh also presents the changes which occur in Nature and their consequences. Keywords: Destruction, Environment, Ecology, Poppies, Sea This paper attempts to bring together the ecological aspects of Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies, as the response of ecological issues is flourishing across the world. For a few genuine reasons, literature needs to penetrate and format our consciousness. My paper focuses on Ghosh’s concern for ecology and the threat caused by the misuse of Nature by mankind made Ghosh give a powerful message for mankind through Nature as a strict teacher. There are very few novelists who deal with ecological aspects of Nature in their novels. Of late, few writers attempt to create awareness on the ecological aspects of Nature. The ecological image acts as one of the major themes in Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies. Amitav Ghosh presents Nature in Sea of Poppies by using experiences, myths and history. Sea of Poppies (2008) is the first volume of Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy of novels.Sea of Poppies was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize in the year 2008. Amitav Ghosh is considered as a great master storyteller through his first famous IbistrilogySea of Poppies.Sea Of Poppies is a long tale about ‘girmitiyas’ or “bonded Volume 8 Issue 8 2019 493 http://infokara.com/ INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056 labourers’ the marginalized and dispossessed labourers who quit their homes and go to a remote place at Mauritius as slaves. This novel expands from North India and Bay of Bengal in 1838 on the eve of the British attack on the Chinese ports in the nineteenth century First Opium War, depicts the British East India Company’s colonial designs. The story is set at the onset of the three-year Opium Wars between the British and the Chinese, and on the Banks of the holy river the Ganges and in Calcutta. Amitav Ghosh compares the Ganges to the Nile, as the symbol of salvation, growth and selfless, of the Egyptian civilization, and growth of these civilizations to these selfless, pure and never-ending river. Sea of Poppies explains Nineteenth-Century colonisation the cultivation of opium as a cash crop in Bengal, Bihar is for Chinese market and the transporting Indian indentured workers to cut sugar canes for the British on islands as Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad The novel vividly portrays the historical background of colonialism, cultivation of opium in India to fulfil the rising demand of opium in China and migration of indentured labours to Mauritius for working in plantations. This novel allows several characters from different caste and levels of society, who become united leaving their past lives, now travel through their personal lives aboard, on the Ibis to go to Mauritius and more generally, through their connections to the opium and slave trades. This Ibis is a former slave trading ship is being refitted to take girmitiyas to Mauritius for Madagascar with its cargo of Opium, bonded labours and criminals. This novel is a trilogy divided into three parts as Land, River and Sea. Each main plot has a subplot. Amitav Ghosh portrays the characters in this novel as poppy seeds which spring in large numbers from the field, where every single seed is uncertain of its future.Amitav Ghosh presents complex story revolving around the central characters in a great, glorious and beautiful manner. The geography and landscape descriptions from India, Calcutta, Mauritius to the Sundarbans, one of Ghosh's much-repeated locations, are also captivating.The global problems handled by Amitav Ghosh remain significant even today. The ‘Land’ part focuses on the characters’ introduction and how they deal with various situations in their lives and finally come together to be associates on a ship. It gives in detail the lives of people who are to be migrated. It is their situations that lead them to travel to Mauritius (mareech), the description of places like Ghazipur, Calcutta and Bihar. In the second section ‘River’, the migrants travel in boats to reach the destination or to reach the place where Ibis is located to carry opium and Girmitiyas. The ‘Sea’ section describes the life of people on the Ibis as the ship is moving forward across the sea. As the story gathers momentum, having only one identity becomes like having no identity at all. Volume 8 Issue 8 2019 494 http://infokara.com/ INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056 Amitav Ghosh says: “No one knows better than I”, he notes, “how skilful the tide country is in silting over its past… perhaps I can make sure at least that what happened here leaves some trace, some hold upon the memory of the world” (p.69). Amitav Ghosh gives maximum information about history to support his novel. For instance the cultivation of Opium as a cash crop in Bengal and Bihar for the Chinese market, the processing method of poppy flowers, sap and its seeds, opium cultivation, alcoholic drinks, operation of opium factory, the Indian food, religious worship, customs, costumes of the people, their occupation, their marriage, sex, riots, traditional medicine, botany, horticulture, grades of different occupation, transporting Indian workers to cut sugarcanes for the British on islands like Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad. Many farmers including Deeti were exploited by British people to cultivate only Poppy and not any other plants. Before the British could force to plant poppy the villagers were cultivating wheat and used its straw to thatch their huts and put roof for their huts. Now it is another way round. “But now, with the sahibs forcing everyone to grow poppy, no one had thatch to spare- it had to be bought at the market, from people put off their repairs as long as they possibly could”(p.29). Earlier poppies were grown by farmers as luxury plants and the dried sap called as ‘akbariafeem’ eas used to cure some illness. The East India Company exploited these farmers by forcing them to cultivate only poppy, and very badly paid, these farmers were not allowed to sell or keep this poppy for their personal use also. The English men forced these farmers to cultivate and harvest manually which is very difficult and forcing them to sign in Assami contract, “it was no use telling the white magistrate that you hadn’t accepted the money and your thumbprint was forged” (p.29- 30). There was always a threat to the farmer. Their occupation was insecure and they were deceived all the farmers who owned land were made landless. They had huge debt and when they could not pay the money in time all their lands were seized. Few were forced to work in the opium factory and thereby getting addicted to opium. Sarju one of the oldest women on Ibis dies on Ibis itself but before she dies she gives poppy seeds, bhang and dhatura to Deeti for the future use in Mauritius. Deeti later realizes the importance of these Poppy seeds for their future livelihood in Mauritius by doing agriculture with it. These Poppy seeds are real assets and treasured by Deeti it is not only used for their occupation in Mauritius but it is their identity. Ghosh neatly presents the interdependence of man and Nature through sea, river, land, Plants, myth and science. Nature and literature go hand in hand, they are closely knit together, and they are inseparable. Ghosh throws light upon Nature in both positive aspect and negative aspect of ecology. The novel promotes the aesthetic sense of ecological aspects based on the deep understanding of Nature rather than destruction. Volume 8 Issue 8 2019 495 http://infokara.com/ INFOKARA RESEARCH ISSN NO: 1021-9056 Nothing wrong in having fear and respect for Nature because the same fear and respect protects mankind through the wisdom that they gain from Nature. Ghosh gives a clear picture of the marginalized class who questions about the friction between the land and government rules. The government which is supposed to be for the people is against the people. The characters presented by Ghosh are in search of identity and happiness. They fight for their identity and social justice. The settlers lifestyle created several problems in their life and throughout the novel, these characters try to sort out the problem, sometimes within and sometimes for others being selfless. The novelist creates awareness among the readers through his characters that man has strong faith in Nature that is to be good with nature without disturbing or exploiting it. Constructing and protecting Nature man is in peace, by destructing man is scattered into pieces. Man has realized that he is a planetary product, who has high responsibilities to be grateful to the provider Nature. Ghosh vividly presents the changes that occur in Nature and their natural consequences upon mankind, with its reality.
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