Gun Island

 

Gun Island By Amitav Ghosh ➖ 

 This Thinking activity is part of our academic task. Which was given by Dilip Barad who was Head of Department of English, MKBU. The task was about Gun Island written by Indian author Amitav Ghosh.

• About Author :- 

Amitav Ghosh is a renowned Indian author known for his contributions to Indian English literature. Born on July 11, 1956, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, Ghosh has made significant literary contributions through his novels, essays, and non-fiction works.

Ghosh's writing often explores themes related to history, culture, identity, migration, and environmental concerns, blending elements of realism with historical fiction and magical realism. He is acclaimed for his intricate storytelling, vivid descriptions, and meticulous research.

• Some of his notable works include:

1. "The Circle of Reason" (1986): Ghosh's debut novel, which follows the life of a young Bengali Muslim named Alu, exploring themes of identity and belonging against the backdrop of global political upheaval.

2. "The Shadow Lines" (1988): This novel, set in India and London, delves into the interconnectedness of lives and events across borders, exploring themes of memory, nationalism, and partition.

3. "The Calcutta Chromosome" (1995): A blend of science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction, this novel revolves around the quest for a mysterious discovery and its ties to the history of malaria research in British India.

4. "The Glass Palace" (2000): Spanning multiple generations and locales, this epic historical novel chronicles the intertwined fates of characters from Burma, India, and Malaysia against the backdrop of colonialism and the struggle for independence.

5. "The Hungry Tide" (2004): Set in the Sundarbans, a vast mangrove forest region in Bengal, this novel explores the complex relationship between humans and the environment, as well as themes of displacement, ecological conservation, and the clash of cultures.

6. "Sea of Poppies" (2008): The first installment in Ghosh's ambitious "Ibis Trilogy," this historical novel is set against the backdrop of the Opium Wars and follows the lives of characters aboard a ship transporting indentured laborers from India to Mauritius.

7. "River of Smoke" (2011) and "Flood of Fire" (2015): The subsequent volumes in the "Ibis Trilogy" continue to explore themes of colonialism, trade, and cultural exchange against the backdrop of 19th-century Asia.

Amitav Ghosh's works have garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Prix Médicis étranger, and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary Indian writers in English. Ghosh's writing not only entertains but also prompts reflection on the complexities of history, society, and the human condition. (ChatGPT) 

• About Novel ➖

In Amitav Ghosh's latest novel, "Gun Island," he continues to explore familiar themes found in his earlier works, such as cross-cultural encounters, journeys by land and sea, diaspora experiences, and the relationship between humans and the environment. The Gun Island comes after ‘The Hungry Tide and The Great Derangement’. The novel focuses on Deen, a scholar and rare book collector based in New York, who returns to the Sunderbans in West Bengal. There, he embarks on a quest to uncover the mystery surrounding a seventeenth-century merchant named Bonduki Sada-gar, also known as "The Gun Merchant," and his conflict with the mythical goddess Manasa Devi, symbolizing the tension between profit-seeking and ecological awareness.

 

Ghosh explains that the Gun Merchant represents the concept of trade, and his encounter with the goddess highlights the clash between human greed and the well-being of other living beings. The narrative also reveals interesting historical connections, such as the old Arabic name for Venice, al-Bunduqevya, which translates to "the land of guns," leading Deen to speculate about the true meaning of Bonduki Sadagar's name.

 

As Deen delves deeper into his research, he travels to Venice, where he discovers the plight of Bangladeshi migrants working illegally. Their hazardous journey across continents and the resistance they face in Venice from Italian authorities serve as a stark contrast to the prosperous past of the Gun Merchant's journey to the same city. Through these interconnected narratives, Ghosh explores themes of migration, globalization, and the human impact on the environment. (Read Further) rita joshi

 

1) How does this novel develop your understanding of a rather new genre known as 'cli-fi'?

 

 What is Cli-fi? (Climate Fiction) 

Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change. Generally speculative in nature but inspired by climate science, works may take place in the world as we know it, in the near future or in fictional worlds experiencing climate change. The genre frequently includes science fiction and dystopian or utopian themes, imagining the potential futures based on how humanity responds to the impacts of climate change. The genre typically focuses on anthropogenic climate change and other environmental issues as opposed to weather and disaster more generally. Technologies such as climate engineering or climate adaptation practices often feature prominently in works exploring their impacts on society. (For more information wikipoedia)

Yes, "Gun Island" by Amitav Ghosh can be seen as contributing to the emerging genre known as "cli-fi," which stands for climate fiction. Cli-fi novels typically explore themes related to climate change, environmental degradation, and their societal impacts. In "Gun Island," Ghosh foregrounds environmental concerns such as climate change, the consequences of industrial pollution on ecosystems, and the interconnectedness of human activities with the natural world. 

• Narmada Bachao Andolan and Chipko movement

Each movement deals with a different crisis and affected population: Chipko, famed for tree-hugging women in the Himalayan forest; Narmada, for villagers displaced by a massive dam; and Navdanya, for hundreds of thousands of farmers whose livelihoods were lost to a compact made by the Indian government and neoliberal …

• Sherni (2021)

Also we can refer to the movie Sherni (2021) Directed by Amit v. Masurkar. The story is about A forest officer who is tasked with capturing and containing a man-eating tigress in a remote village. However, she faces hostility from various sides as she tries to do her job.  

• Don’t Look Up (2021) 

The impact event is an allegory for climate change, and the film is a satire of government, political, celebrity, and media indifference to the climate crisis. Produced by McKay's Hyperobject Industries and Bluegrass Films, the film was announced in November 2019.

Through the character of Deen, the protagonist, and his quest to unravel the mystery surrounding the Gun Merchant and his encounters with the mythical goddess Manasa Devi, Ghosh weaves a narrative that intertwines elements of history, mythology, and environmental activism. The novel delves into the ways in which human actions, driven by profit and economic interests, have far-reaching consequences on the environment and other living beings.

Article -

In the novel we can find Deet “Dino” Datta plies his trade between New York City and his birthplace, Kolkata, seeking the antiquities that will keep his business afloat. On a trip to India, he is reunited with an elderly relative who urges him to visit an ancient temple in the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans, where the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna Rivers meet in the Bay of Bengal.

The trip is Deet's introduction to Bonduki Sadagar, the Gun Merchant. A figure out of Bengali folklore, Sadagar is remembered for building a temple in the Sundarbans. Ghosh writes, “The Gun Merchant was said to have been a rich trader who had angered Manasa Devi (the Hindu goddess of snakes) by refusing to become her devotee. Plagued by snakes and pursued by droughts, famines, storms, and other calamities, he had fled overseas to escape the goddess's wrath, finally taking refuge in a land where there were no serpents, a place called 'Gun Island.'On the way to the temple, Datta acquaints himself with two young men: Rafi, a tech-savvy fisherman, and Tipu, an Americanized enterprising entrepreneur. When the group reaches Gun Island, they discover that it is far from snake-proof. Tipu is bitten by a cobra and thereafter seems to experience prophetic visions.

As Datta travels between India, California, and Venice, he encounters signs and portents of climate change and migration in every location. In Los Angeles, he attends a lecture about the 17th century as a period of severe climate disruption, which conjures up another link to his family's past.

Datta says, “(A reference to the Taj Mahal) took my mind back to India, and it occurred to me that the temples of Bishnupur were built at about the same time as the Taj. This in turn reminded me of the Gun Merchant’s shrine . . . and I suddenly recalled the droughts, famines, storms and plagues that played so large a part in the legend. Was it possible that the legend was born of the tribulations of the Little Ice Age?”

As Gun Island progresses, Ghosh seems to make the case that Datta is himself part of an ancient story, following in the footsteps of the Gun Merchant, the snake goddess, and other mythical figures. Sometimes the connections seem tenuous, but often they are elegant and compelling.

Throughout, Ghosh encourages his readers to consider other forms of human existence when dealing with climate. The book makes a point of transporting the reader into the realm of the fantastic, a counterpoint to the realities of survival in a warming environment.

At one point, a character says, “You mustn’t underestimate the power of stories. There is something in them that is elemental and inexplicable. Haven’t you heard it said that what makes us human, what separates us from animals, is the faculty of storytelling? But what if the truth were even stranger? What if it were the other way around? What if the faculty of storytelling were not specifically human but rather the last remnant of our animal selves?”

“What if the faculty of storytelling were not specifically human but rather the last remnant of our animal selves?”

If Ghosh set out to fulfill his own prescription for grappling with issues of climate change in his fiction, Gun Island certainly showcases his efforts. Weird weather—in the form of droughts, firestorms, and cyclones—appears suddenly, unexpectedly, and seemingly out of nowhere. Animals swarm to new territories as they adjust to drastically changing circumstances and pose threats to themselves and humans.

People everywhere are on the move, displaced by economic and environmental pressure. The novel confronts Europe's refugee crisis, using Tipu’s and Rafi's journey from Bangladesh to Italy to convey the xenophobia opposing them. The story reaches its climax in a confrontation between refugees and the Italian military, again mixing both the fantastic and the mundane.

Gun Island brims with such intriguing ideas—to the point that they sometimes threaten to overflow into confusion. But Ghosh keeps enough control of the narrative's jumps in time and place to keep readers engaged. There's no denying the passion he brings to scenes of the natural world, or the foreboding with which he imbues episodes of humans in touch with the uncanny.

The supporting cast is often charming, but Ghosh too often lets them dump information and disappear, rather than stay and reveal the complexity through their personalities. It’s fine if Ghosh doesn't want to mire Datta in unnecessary introspection, but the supporting cast would benefit from further insight into their motivations.

For all the disruptions that climate change causes, Ghosh and his characters don't lose sight of the joy to be found in the world. Having been shown the possibility of a new existence, Datta says, “At that moment I felt that I was surrounded by all that was best about our world—the wide-open sea, the horizon, the bright moonlight, leaping dolphins, and also the outpouring of hope, goodness, love, charity, and generosity that I could feel surging around me.”

Indeed, Gun Island acknowledges that there might still be hope for a better tomorrow. Ghosh writes, “The possibility of our deliverance lies not in the future but in the past, in a mystery beyond memory.”

Whether we live in Kolkata or Manhattan, disaster seems only a step away. But so might be salvation. Serious, playful, stylish, and eventful, Gun Island suggests that climate change is indeed suitable material for literary fiction. The book ends on a mysterious note, but that is just as it should be. (Berry)

By incorporating themes of climate change and environmental degradation into the narrative, "Gun Island" contributes to the growing body of literature that seeks to raise awareness about these pressing global issues. In doing so, Ghosh's novel aligns with the goals of cli-fi literature, which aims to engage readers in discussions about the challenges posed by climate change and the urgent need for collective action to address them.

 

 

Lisa bark beetles

Larryb spiders

Piya snake

Narmada dame

Coprpoterization sherni dont look up

Chipko movement

Berry, Michael. “Amitav Ghosh Meets His Own Demand for Cli-Fi With “Gun Island.”” Sierra Club, 18 September 2019, https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/amitav-ghosh-meets-his-own-demand-for-cli-fi-gun-island. Accessed 22 February 2024.