A Literary Journey with Amitav Ghosh

This is a collection of articles and essays, and "presentations," which the writer emphasizes are something other than the first two.

- RANJONA BANERJEE

There is an epistolary exchange; there are comments on other writers, and there are lectures. Most have been published in journals. Therefore, it is possible that the reader may have come across some before.

At the outset, a full disclaimer: I am a fan of Amitav Ghosh's writing, both fiction and non-fiction. The extent of his research and understanding, coupled with his fluid and evocative style of writing, makes him one of India's greatest in my mind. The book is also dedicated to two of my favorite college lecturers, Supriya and Sukanta Chaudhuri, a double winner for me.

Thus, I started Wild Fictions with great enthusiasm and anticipation. I had not at the time realized that these were published essays, and right up front, I met disappointment.

The first section is about the environment, a subject on which Ghosh has written with scholarship and understanding and which I was keen to begin with. Yet I found that the essays were old and not updated, especially the two about the Nicobar and the Sundarbans. So much has happened since then that these essays from the early 2000s were left hanging in a time warp.

Of course, the publisher and editor should have made provision for updates. A little note at the end would have been sufficient for those with avid interest in these matters. And a positive note, they do provide context even for the present day.