December 05, 2025 02:58 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

Literary

'Mamata fooled Muslims': Humayun Kabir explodes after TMC suspends him over 'Babri Masjid-style mosque' demand; announces new party | Mosque in the middle of Kolkata airport? Centre confirms flight risks, BJP fires at Mamata | Sam Altman is betting big on India! OpenAI in advanced talks with Tata to build AI infrastructure | Government removes mandatory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi App. Know all details | Calcutta HC overturns controversial Bengal job annulment — 32,000 teachers rejoice! | Bengal SIR shock: 1 lakh ‘deceased voters’ found in Kolkata North! | Massive twist in Bengal voter list: ‘Perfect’ 2,280 booths shrink to just 480 after probe! | ‘Red carpet for intruders?’: Supreme Court raps petitioner in Rohingya case | Sanchar Saathi app row: Scindia shuts down Congress' ‘snooping’ charge — here’s what he said | Layoff alert! Marketing giant Omnicom to slash 4,000 jobs and shut historic ad agencies after IPG takeover

Flood of Fire has special connection with Calcutta: Amitav Ghosh

India Blooms News Service | | Jun 09, 2015, at 05:26 am

#Amitav Ghosh # #FloodofFire #AmitavGhoshtrilogy

Kolkata, June 8 (IBNS): Having concluded his Ibis trilogy with the release of "Flood of Fire", Amitav Ghosh, one of the best-selling Indian writers in English, said his next work would be much shorter.

“I think my next few books will be much shorter," said the writer on Sunday at the book signing event at the Starmark bookstore here as his fans queued up to get initialed their copies of Flood of Fire, presented by Penguin Books India.

Flood of Fire, released earlier at the Indian Museum, is the final part of his historical fiction series Ibis Trilogy. The other two books of the trilogy are Sea of Poppies (2008) and River of Smoke (2011).

While the first volume "Sea of Poppies" dwelt on the inner workings of the Opium trade in British India, "River of Smoke" is about the changing lives and traditions of Indian migrants in Mauritius and the opium trade in China.

In "Flood of Fire", Ghosh goes back to 1839 when tension had been rapidly mounting between China and British India following the crackdown on opium smuggling by Beijing.

At the start of the signing, Ghosh introduced his book to the audience. "The Ibis Trilogy, set in the 1830’s and 1840’s, covers the events of the First Opium War, of which Calcutta was the nerve centre,” said the author.

“This is a book which has a very special connection with Calcutta, a lot of the action actually happens in Calcutta”, said Ghosh.

A short question-answer session followed, where Ghosh revealed that he had developed an interest in the history of opium and poppies with relation to India, when he began writing the first installment of the trilogy. “The importance of this war is immeasurable,”, he said, adding that “this was where modern Asia was born.”

Ghosh then proceeded with the signing, with fans of all ages from school-going children to senior citizens, flocking to him to get their books signed.

(Reporting by Ruchita Chatterji)

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.

India
International

Related Images

In Images: Kolkata Celebrates Jagadhatri Puja Oct 31, 2025, at 12:43 am

Darjipara Mitra Bari Gears Up for Its Centuries-Old Jagadhatri Puja in Kolkata Oct 30, 2025, at 01:16 am

In Images: Devotees in Kolkata bid farewell to Goddess Durga with sindoor khela and immersion on Vijayadashami Oct 03, 2025, at 12:19 am