Recommendations: Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh

On the eve of India's Independence Day, I thought it would be befitting to talk about two Indian books that I have absolutely LOVED in the past few years. It helps that these two books are written by one of my all-time favourite authors- Amitav Ghosh.

So, let's get into these books, shall we?

Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke both belong to Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy- a series of three books that document the journey of several Indians (cutting across class and region lines) from Calcutta to Mauritius in the first half of the 19th century. This tumultuous journey is set against the backdrop of the Opium Wars.

Sea of Poppies is the first in the series and it introduces us to the cast of characters, who undertake the journey on board a ship called 'Ibis', which is carrying bonded labourers from Calcutta to work in the sugarcane plantations in Mauritius. The multiple characters are interesting and diverse.

There is Deeti- a simple housewife from rural Bihar, who is about to be 'Sati'-ed on her husband's funeral pyre when a lower caste helper- Kalua- saves her life. Deeti and Kalua elope from Deeti's village and end up joining some other indentured labourers who are heading to Mauritius on the Ibis.

Then there is Paulette- the orphaned daughter of a French botanist. She wants to go to Mauritius for a fresh start.

Zachary Reid is the captain of the Ibis- bi-racial and a misfit in his father's wealthy American family.

Neel Rattan Sarkar is a raja, who is falsely accused of forgery and sent off to prison. There he meets Ah-Fatt, a half-Chinese, half-Parsi young man, who is also mistakenly imprisoned and Neel and Ah-Fatt are being sent off to Mauritius to spend their prison term.

So, it is this primary cast of characters who sent off on a journey that is full of trials and tribulations, with an intense and interesting segue at Canton- where we meet more new characters who are a part of the Colonial brigade involved in the opium trade with the Chinese.

So, all in all, these books make for very interesting, informative (about a key period in Asia's history) and engrossing read.

If you love good writing- and Ghosh is the best!- and history interests you, then you simply have to read these books.

I highly, highly recommend these!