TheDaak review

The Hungry Tide: by Amitav Ghosh, London, HarperCollins, Published: 2004, 402 pages, ISBN: 9780007141777, ₹399

By Shreyasi Dan

The Hungry Tide, published in 2004, is the fourth book by the Indian-born novelist Amitav Ghosh. It is set in the unique ecological region of Sundarbans, the world’s largest Mangrove forest. It covers around 10,000 sq. km of area, mostly composed of thousands of islands of varying sizes, stretching between the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. In the words of Nirmal from the book, ‘The islands are the trailing threads of India’s fabric, the ragged fringe of her sari, the ãchol that follows her, half wetted by the sea.’ Its unique landscape, shaped by the ebb and flow of tides through the complex web of tidal rivers and narrow waterways, sprawling mangrove trees with intricate roots that emerge from the mud, the Sundarbans is a world in itself. The Hungry Tide covers a spectrum of themes, which include but are not limited to environmental degradation and the need for conservation, traditional knowledge vs. modern science, cultural clashes and identity, the impact of colonisation, displacement and a sense of belongingness. The central storyline of the book finally resonates with two major issues: first, the brutal treatment of the state against the marginalised communities due to the contradiction between traditional land use and government policies, and second, the vulnerability of the marginalised in the face of Nature’s destructive forces.  

There are two timelines in the novel. The one that runs in the present traces the narratives of Kanai Dutta, a business owner and translator coming from New Delhi and Piya Roy, an Indian-American cetologist, aka marine biologist who has come to the Tide country to study the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. The other timeline, of the 1970s, is intertwined with historical accounts of the colonial past (particularly the refugee crisis after the Partition) come from the journal of Kanai’s uncle Nirmal, who was involved in the cause of the Bengali refugees settled in Marichjhapi, an island in the Sundarbans. All these characters and the themes of the novel are intimately connected by Fokir, an illiterate local fisherman who possesses a deep understanding of the tidal lands and its waters. His character symbolises the harmony between humans and nature that is deeply embedded in the region’s culture. 

As the novel proceeds, one learns about how the community navigates their lives within the ecosystem, highlighting the interdependence and coexistence between humanity and the natural environment. The mangrove region has a significant influence on the character’s lives. Kanai’s uncle Nirmal was highly concerned about the vulnerability of humanity before the power of nature. One such notable instance would be that while telling the stories about past cyclones to young Fokir and inspecting the Bandh, the barrier made to protect the village from the wreck of a cyclone, Nirmal says, “how long can this frail fence last against these monstrous appetites — the crabs and the tides, the winds and the storms? And if it falls, who shall we turn to then, comrade? […] Neither angels nor men will hear us, and as for the animals, they won’t hear us either.” (p.172) Nirmal’s anxiety shows the helplessness of those living in the coastal villages of the Sundarbans and suggests almighty nature’s indifference to humanity. 

Although the author doesn’t talk directly about climate change in the book, the harsh reality of it is definitely expressed through the unexpectedly devastating cyclone that hits the region. Fokir and Piya, out on the creeks for their expedition, had to face the storm, and Fokir, using his body, saves Piya from the impact of the strong wind and debris, which finally takes a toll on his life. His death serves as a poignant moment that encapsulates the novel’s representation of nature’s power and the vulnerability of humans while also highlighting the strength and resilience of those who survive in the Sundarbans. 

Through the story, the author has shown that collaboration between traditional ecological knowledge and modern conservation efforts has the potential to yield great results. Piya finds Fokir on her very first day of exploration in the Sundarban waterways, and he later agrees to help her spot the Irrawaddy dolphin’s habitat. Although they spoke no common language, their silent communication reflected mutual respect for each other. Piya’s appreciation for Fokir’s skill and the importance of local wisdom for a deeper understanding of the Sundarbans created an amalgamation of various sources of knowledge when it comes to nature. Although Fokir had an untimely death, his knowledge and wisdom survived through the GPS device. Piya and Fokir’s interaction illustrates how cultural interactions and personal connections can transcend barriers, leading to mutual learning and growth. 

The novel paints a picture of environmental and social injustice towards the native population as well as displaced refugees in a post-colonial setting in the form of displacement, lack of access to education, healthcare, economic exploitations and cultural marginalisation. At the same time, the native populations have been portrayed as resilient and resourceful, and able to negotiate for their rights. The aftermath of British colonialism, Partition and the refugee crisis scarred both countries. After the Partition, many Hindu Bengalis, mostly belonging to the upper and middle class, fled East Pakistan and took refuge in West Bengal. Most of the marginalised Hindu lower caste people who came during the later phase of migration were sent to the rocky and inhospitable wastelands of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with an excuse that West Bengal could not accommodate more refugees.  Before coming to power, the Left was in support of resettling the migrants in West Bengal. However, their refugee policies changed after forming the government in 1977. These refugees, from marshy coastal wetland areas of East Bengal, resisted staying in the inhospitable barren areas of central India and started returning to Bengal (Jalais, 2005). 

A significant part of the novel talks about the Marichjhapi massacre of 1979, where with a violent clash, thousands of Bangladeshi migrant refugees who settled on the island after returning from central India, were forcefully evicted while many were allegedly killed by the erstwhile Left Front government of West Bengal. According to the government, the refugees violated the Forest Act by illegally occupying protected forest land, which is a part of the project to save tigers. Kusum, Fokir’s mother, who was a part of the Marichjhapi community, raised a pertinent question to Nirmal, ‘Who are these people, I wondered, who love animals so much that they are willing to kill us for them? [….] No one could think this a crime unless they have forgotten that this is how humans have always lived — by fishing, by clearing land and by planting the soil.’ 

It is well known and well documented that the man-eating tigers claim dozens of residents’ lives every year, and there are a few incidents of that in the novel as well. This neglect towards the needs of the marginalised in the name of ecological conservation has been done for decades. In the name of conserving natural resources, injustice towards the downtrodden population and disposing them of their life and livelihood by the state has been portrayed here. With his critical stand on the government, the author clearly tried to reinforce why the human rights approach must be embedded within the environmental approach for a sustainable future.  

A devoted Marxist, Nirmal could not stand the leftist government’s ideological betrayal towards the refugees and decided to directly engage with the local population for their cause. With the local realities of Marichjhapi, as Weik (2006) explains, Nirmal could rethink his abstract political views. As a postcolonial historian and an outsider, he started his journey in the Sundarbans as a school teacher at Lusibari and viewed the Sundarbans through an academic lens. His transformation from an outsider to an insider comes to an end with his death following the Marichjhapi massacre of 1979. His life’s journey illustrates how personal connections can reshape one’s sense of belonging. 

The concept of Topophilia, first propounded by Tuan (1990), is quite prominent in the novel. Topophilia talks about the attachment or an effective bond with a place or an environment. The story also proves that one can be topophilic even if they are not born in that region. It is very interesting to note that none of the main characters, including Fokir, were born in the Sundarbans, yet they have developed a close tie with the Tide country. The so-called outsiders like Kanai and Piya can be thought of as the representatives of the global cosmopolitan culture. But as the story proceeds, one can see how they also developed a sentiment with the place. In the end, from the epilogue, one gets to know about Kanai moving to Kolkata and of his plans to write a story from Nirmal’s diary. Piya decides to stay at Lusibari permanently and devote herself to a project for the conservation of the dolphins. Although there were a lot of international funds available, she expressed her desire to Nilima that she wanted the project to be under the sponsorship of Nilima’s Badabon Trust so that local fishermen could also benefit from it. This shows her eco-cosmopolitan views, which seek solutions to environmental injustice involving human as well as non-human needs at the local level (Weik, 2006). 

In conclusion, The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh weaves together intricate narratives about environmental challenges, human relationships and culture. Set in the Sundarbans, the novel presents the story through the characters whose lives are deeply interwoven with the local environment. With Ghosh’s skilful exploration of postcolonial themes, as the characters navigate their individual journeys, there is no doubt that this powerful story will linger in the reader’s mind long after the final pages are turned. 

References

Jalais, A. (2005). Dwelling on Morichjhanpi: When tigers became ‘citizens’, refugees’ tiger-food’. Economic and Political Weekly, 1757-1762. 

Tuan, Y. F. (1990). Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Columbia University Press.

Weik, A. (2006). The home, the tide, and the world: eco-cosmopolitan encounters in Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide. Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Vols, 13(14.1), 2006-2007.