The
Ibis Trilogy written by Amitav Ghosh consists of the novels Sea of Poppies (2008), River of Smoke (2011) and Flood of Fire (2015). Constructed on an epic scale, this
trilogy shows the interconnected lives of people across India, China and
Mauritius, all united by the factor that they were colonies of the British
empire. The fates of these people are connected to the trade of opium, which
was produced in India as a commercial crop much to the ruin of the Indian
economy and extensively sold in China causing addiction among the Chinese
population.
The first book of the trilogy,
Sea of Poppies
begins with the life of Deeti or Kabutri-ki-ma, whose husband works in an opium
factory and is addicted to opium. When her husband dies and she is tormented by
her husband’s brother (who happens to be Kabutri’s father), she runs away with
Kalua, a man from a lower caste. To escape from persecution, they join a group
of people who are transported to Mauritius as girmitiyas on the ship Ibis. The
other people whose lives become interlinked during the journey are Zachary Reid, Miss Paulette Lambert, Jodu, Ah
Fatt and Neel. The first book criticises the British introduction of opium as a
compulsory crop in the place of food crops ruining the Indian farmers.
The second book River of
Smoke describes the girmitayas’ life on the island of Mauritius and their
adventures. The British and the Indian traders earn fortunes by bringing opium
to China until the Chinese government takes steps to prevent the large-scale
influx of opium. The government takes preventive steps against opium addiction
and they seize and burn the imported opium. The traders become discontented at
this and have to flee for their lives. Neel and Ah Fatt escapes from the ship Ibis
along with a few lascars. Mr. Bahram, the Parsi trader who happens to be Ah
Fatt’s father appoints him as his munshi. This book is set mostly in Canton
against the background of the First Opium War and shows how the Chinese cannot
live without opium.
The third book Flood of
Fire spans across British India, China and Mauritius, where Deeti and her
descendants have established themselves as settlers in the plantation. In the
midst of the First Opium War,a ship Hind
sails from India to China with Zachary Reid in search of Paulette and with Shireen
Modi who wants to get back her dead husband’s wealth. However, Zachary Reid
forgets Pauline and has an affair with Mrs. Burnham, who becomes a likeable
character as opposed to the first book where she creates all kinds of problems
for Pauline. This book depicts Zachary’s initiation into the ways of the world.
