July 05, 2026 05:04 am (IST)

Make this your homepage

Literary

'Why can't citizens protest against the government? They are being made slaves by slapping cases': Bombay HC slams Mumbai Police, quashes activist's externment | 'First he cheats on me...': Siya Goyal's old pub video goes viral amid probe into fiancé Ketan Agarwal's alleged murder | Ronaldo's goal, Ramos' last-gasp winner send Portugal past Croatia, set up Spain clash | India-US trade deal almost done! Piyush Goyal hints at breakthrough | Ram Mandir donation scam: Champat Rai points finger at his own driver | PM Modi welcomes Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi as India-Japan ties enter a new era | 'Not an isolated incident': India slams Pakistan after 125-year-old historic Gurdwara is demolished | Ram Mandir donation theft: Six accused were employed by Varanasi-based security firm, probe reveals | Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft: Probe says majority of money was allegedly stolen during Kumbh Mela | Commercial LPG price slashed by Rs 183.50 from July 1; check new rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai

Flood of Fire has special connection with Calcutta: Amitav Ghosh

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

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)

#Amitav Ghosh # #FloodofFire #AmitavGhoshtrilogy

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