The Glass Palace - A novel by Amitava Ghosh

Book Review-The Glass Palace

Stars:-

The Glass Palace: Palace here is the Grand palace of Burma formerly known as the Golden land . This novel is a long , long history covering events from the British conquest of Rangoon to its conquest by the military junta. The narrative covers the life of an Indian orphan Rajkumar, his love for the palace maid dolly, their future together, their kids, second world war, the dilemmas of an Indian soldier fighting on behalf of the British ( when India is in throes of its own Independence Movement),the reconciliation of past with the present covering three generations,discourses on vintage cars, cameras, elephants, anthrax and many more , reminding of an era when rubber was newly introduced and was banned for sale by the German Govt. during WW1.. phew...

Hmm, so the sweep of the book is so vast and so many characters come and go that you feel reading a collection of stories , loosely bound by a genealogy and a progressing timeline rather than a well-knit story .The story is more into start and stop mode. This book begins on the day British conquer Rangoon , exile the Royal Family to India, witnessed by an Indian orphan Rajkumar. Rajkumar exploits the opportunities presented by the Timber trade, followed by Rubber and as time goes on becomes one of the wealthiest persons in Burma. He is literally ruined by the timber when his Timer horde is bombed in WW2. Thus , one WW makes him and another breaks him.Meanwhile, we have the travails of Royal family with the British Govt and as I have mentioned, a plethora of topics. This story lacks the coherence and lyricism of Amitav Ghosh and is one of his weaker novels. Otherwise, in contrasting present and past and changing world, he surpasses any of the contemporary fiction writers.

This book could have been his magnum opus if he had been able to cover the canvas as comprehensively and blended the colors and images into a semblance of a mosaic. Otherwise the story remains brilliant in patches, particularly,the scenic beauty of upper Burma, hitherto unknown by most of us (may be known only by geography enthusiasts, esp, the surface oil wells), the details of anthrax in elephant, their instinctive intelligence, communities bulit around teak forests,Indian Army in WW2, the landscape of Ratnagiri hosting the Royal Family and its eventual decay & dilution .

This book comes as a slight disappointment to Amitav Ghosh fans but can be read as a series of stories leisurely over a period of time.A human story covering, so many characters that the character sketches get blurred. Still, this can be read as a change of era kind of story.

Book Review: The Hungry Tide

Author: Amitav Ghosh



I must confess that Amitav Ghosh is one of my favorite writers. His stories are about human beings whether they are poor farmers from 17th century U.P. or present day Sunderbans. He transcends time and space with ease but his characters portray timeless emotions. His prose is lyrical in depicting the environment and etching his characters,without descending into incoherent descriptions .




In his book, the Hungry tide, Amitav Ghosh introduces us to the vagaries of life in a part of India that is known of by all but understood very little---the scenic, mysterious and beautiful Sunderbans ---the abode of Royal Bengal Tigers. A lot has been said about the mangroves and the unique biodiversity of the region and dangers posed to it by modernization and encroachment by human beings ,but very little is known about the life of people inhabiting these parts , struggling with the changing tide patterns daily, weekly, monthly & yearly . Tides change the entire landscape either by creating new islands or by devouring the existing ones, a daily phenomenon ---literally “the hungry tide”.



The novel traces the adventures of an Indian origin Bengali cetologist Piyali Roy into the myriad channels of the Sunderban Delta and dangers faced from the predators of all kinds, animals as well as humans. She is saved by an illiterate fisherman, Fokir from drowning and develops a deep bond with him , a warm bond formed despite the barriers of language. What connects them is their mutual understanding and love for marine beings and being valued for what each of them can bring to the other. She also meets a representative of educated,upwardly mobile India, Kanai Dutt ,a translator who is ignorant and disdainful of poor and illiterate Fokir and still jealous of him because of his easy rapport with Piyali. A conundrum of human emotions, thoughts and relationships in the story is compounded by the translator's Aunt and Uncle's dysfunctional relationship because of the difference in their principles. The flashback as narrated by Uncle's eyes juxtaposes the modern developments with the age-old struggle of human beings with nature (humanism vs. environmentalism).




As usual, Amitav Ghosh delivers a masterpiece in terms of language, characters and the story. The details of the terrain as reflected by each of his characters also mirrors their thoughts . The novel offers insights into ambitions harbored by the unlikeliest persons and hopes raised by education and opportunity. The note of optimism in the story and the feeling of having arrived at peace after a tumultuous journey is contagious. We, the readers, are left to bask in its afterglow.

An open Letter to Dr. Shashi Tharoor

Dear Dr. Tharoor,

I have always admired your eloquence and honesty. My admiration for you has grown manifold after your resignation over the allegations made by Mr. Lalit Modi (and taken up clamorously by our dysfunctional Opposition, who oppose because they have to oppose) of your influencing the bid for IPL Kochi team and being paid for it. This resignation proves that you are not motivated solely by your “kursi” or chair.

In Hindi we have a proverb “Saanch ko aanch nahi(Truth has nothing to fear)”.Your integrity stands vindicated by your resignation. But why didn’t you resign earlier ? It would have let you off the whiff of stink of expulsion and love with your chair that might linger for some time , though hopefully people will see your honesty, integrity and sincerity , sorely lacking in our public life(and guess they got envious of your good traits and tried to drag you down to their own level.)

Let me introduce myself before I go further. I am a software professional with limited intellectual capability and eloquence. I have been a frequent reader of your columns in The Hindu Sunday Magazine. I am an avid reader. I have read your non-fiction(The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone & India :From Midnight to Millennium). I am yet to read your fiction writings.

To be honest, I noticed you more when you ran for the UN Secretary General and as an Indian , I supported your candidature (though I couldn’t have done anything other than hope and pray). When you decided to contest Indian General elections, won from Kochi and was appointed as the Minister of State for External affairs,I was hopeful (and happy, I must say) to see a person with an experience in International Diplomacy as having some say in our External Affairs Policy .

But troubles began soon after. I need not repeat any of those including the “interlocutor” comment . Anyone could see you were struggling in Indian Politics as a novice and it was refreshing to see a politician making not just populist and politically correct statements but also what he felt. But therein lies the tragedy and paradox of Indian Politics. You are not supposed to speak what you feel when you belong to the Government or a Political Party even if the Government is that of a democracy promising freedom of speech to all its people and the Party beholden the tenets of the same democracy . The fate that befell Mr. Jaswant Singh is still fresh in our memories.

But the latest IPL saga did show you in a bad light as some questions went unanswered(I have read the statement tabled in the Parliament by you) .

1. What was your Officer on Special duty doing during the IPL Kochi bidding ?

2. What is the truth behind Mr. Modi’s claim of your calling him with to the bidding?

3. Why did you play the Kochi and Gender card in your reply?

Guess it was because of political reasons but an unconsummated player at this game should have not attempted it. If it was for personal reasons( your liking for cricket, that’s great but please do not mix realpolitik with personal, generally people here,esp. the Opposition or for that matter any political Party cannot appreciate the nuances.

And last words, Please do not let Mr. Lalit Modi get way with half-truths and accusations. He has got vested interests in so many teams. Why did he pick up only on Kochi Team? Since now you are no longer a part of the Government, you can question him without any accusations of Government harassement that could be alleged by him. Not withstanding the fact that you are still the Honorable Member of Parliament , you are still the citizen of a free Democracy and you have rights of self defence and of questioning and learning the truth behind any enterprise or entrepreneur, irrespective of reputation, money power or access.

We all want to know the truth. Satyameva Jayate ( Only Truth Triumphs).

Jai Hind!!

Thanks and Regards,

Snigdha

P.S.: Honorable Finance Minister has said that probe will be made into IPL