Apr 11, 2005 07:25 PM
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(Updated Apr 29, 2005 02:20 PM)
Every life is a story waiting to be told. The Hungry Tide is one such novel that narrates and carries within itself like subsets many lives and their unique stories. The novel itself is not as overpowering and drawing than the way it has been narrated. There are no sudden shocks, surprises, and emotions or values attached but just plain narration. Simply put it is the charisma of Amitava’s eloquent writing technique that keeps the readers hooked on.
The Hungry Tide is definitely a book to be explored. It expects nothing but gives you so much. Like answers one never asked. It speaks of life and the challenges associated, of love and its egalitarian belief and above all of human spirit. Though it follows a plain narrative path even then the Hungry Tide comes as a surprise to me. It is a novel unlike any other. Amitava does not questions but simply tells without seeking any action, he does not preach and neither does he try to impress. But he does just that and there is proof for it. A part of us remains with the Hungry Tide long after it has been read. The story of different characters comes back to us gnawing and trying to explore more. Just like a person who has been at sea for long but cannot stop the persistent feeling and shaking that makes him believe he is still there.
I often wonder what maketh a man? Is it the education, money, clothes that he wears, medals he has won, etc? Such elusive queries certainly can either be ignored or answered vaguely. Probably the true measure of a man lies in his/her sense of duty towards a fellow being, in his acceptance of challenges and rising above the general tides to do that is right. This is the outcome of The Hungry Tide and the answer to my query.
The Hungry Tide puts together various characters from different periods and locations against the pleasing background of Sunderbans- a land described by Amitava as out of this world. Amitava has so discerningly picked details and painted the beauty of the archipelago islands that one can smell, feel the salt water, forest and see the beauty of it.
Amitava also highlights his expertise as a great research writer. Though he writes in a foreign language (English) Amitava deftly preserves the local Bengali touch in his novel. So even if I am reading the lives of fictitious Bengali( or in this case some Bangladeshi migrants) people and their culture in English, I feel connected. Obviously such dexterity is one major reason why The Hungry Tide is a success.
The Hungry Tide is like a gentle river following it’s a fixed course. It jumps but does not rush. It begins at a place called Dakuri – a South Kolkatta commuter station, where Piyali Roy and Kanai Dutt meet for the first time. When they meet their destinations are not far from each other but destiny ultimately unites both at Lusibari- another isalnd ofthe archipelago. Piya is a cetologist of Indian parentage but stubbornly American. She is on a track of the rare river dolphins and to help her in her work hires Fokir, an illiterate, proud local fisherman. Kanai on the other hand is a ‘sophisticated Delhi businessman’. He has returned to the island on request of his aunt, a local figure, for the first time since the death of his uncle, a political radical who died mysteriously after the death of a local uprising. Kanai joins Piya and Fokir as a translator in their expedition. Thus begins The Hungry Tide exploring a new territory, not just of the mangroves land but also of the human spirit.
It is said that love knows no boundaries- physical or intellectual. Love is not the air above the water sending ripples on the surface but everything beneath it. Though Piya and Fokir cannot understand each other’s language but communicate effectively. Fokir though illiterate is understands the needs of Piya when they are left stranded on a boat. Piya is impressed by Fokir’s gentleness hidden beneath his raw covering and his immense knowledge of the river. Fokir on the other hand is married with Moynaa and loves Piya. The story continuously unfolds and reaches the stage when Piya leaves Lusibari only to come back and show her true measure, to perform her duty towards a fellow being. She comes back for Fokir. Read it to know what actually happens.
The Hungry Tide is must read. A friend recommended it to me without knowing my taste. Yet she was confident, I will like it. She said everyone likes AG’s work, because he is known as ‘the seductive writer’. I am not disappointed with her prediction. There is so much in it -the landscape, a different culture, history and the geography all knit together. I saw all that AG painted through his words. A remarkable novel indeed.
