CHENNAI: He is a master storyteller. He weaves history, Bengal, the world, and his imagination to pen stories that often go beyond the trance of reading a ‘happy-ending book’. Sahitya Akademi Award recipient Amitav Ghosh achieves the feat again with his new book Gun Island, where a Brooklyn-based dealer of rare books finds his life entangled amid an ancient legend about the goddess of snakes, Manasa Devi. The book also takes into account the disturbing phenomenon of displacement that is unfolding across the planet at the very moment.
On Thursday, amid an intermittent drizzle, we waded through the city’s traffic to Starmark Store, Express Avenue Mall, for a book-signing session by the author. As we made our way through the 40-odd enthusiastic fans waiting to get their copy signed, we caught a quick glimpse of Ghosh, dressed in a simple olive-green shirt, black trousers and black shoes. His warm smile and friendly demeanour made the atmosphere at the event surreal and set the mood for our conversation.
What was the first thought when you came to know that you would be receiving the Jnanpith award this year?
I was astonished. So many writers I admire have received this award. In our Indian literary community, this award is really special. As Gopal Gandhi said, some awards are given to by the state and it feels like they come from the above. But, Jnanpith award is like an embrace from the below.
The scene of the publishing industry in India is changing rapidly. Addressing this, author Ruskin Bond recently said, ‘Soon, there will be more writers than readers’. Does it sound scary?
Did he say that? (Laughs). No, I don’t think so at all. The more, the merrier. Why shouldn’t everyone write? If the writing is bad, then people won’t read it, I hope. Who gets to decide what is bad and what is good? It is the reader who has to decide this. In any truly healthy literary world, there are many kinds of writing. The more choices a reader has, the better will be his decision.
It has been 30 years since your first book was published. How has your writing style evolved? Do you believe in catering to the demand?
Oh! Not at all. Certainly, a writer like me can’t cater to the demand because I don’t know what the demand is. The world we are living in today is so different from the world of 1986. The realities of today are so extreme and so overwhelming that we have to respond to it as much as we can. And, I try to be responsive towards them.
So, can we say that you write for yourself?
That is actually true. Writing is not like marketing. You lead a reader and it is not the other way around.
With innumerable reading challenges flooding the feeds of social media platforms, people are consuming books in a greater number and at a greater speed. What is a healthy way to read?
You know what? a) It depends from person to person and b) I don’t think anyone does that for an extended period of time. There are phases when I keep on reading benignly and then there are phases I don’t. Human lives are not levelled. There are ups and downs.
If you are ever asked to make a curriculum of history for Indian students, how would you give it shape?
I really can’t say as I am not experienced in teaching that way. I think one has to have a lot of experience in teaching to fashion a curriculum.
Why do you think authors write less environment-related fiction and non-fiction?
Today, there is a lot of resistance among readers about reading the realities happening around them. They want a gateway to escape. I constantly get trolled if I retweet something of importance or write on a specific issue. It’s like they don’t want to hear the bad news.
You recently opened an Instagram account. Are you enjoying being on the platform?
Yes, I did and I can’t say I am very good at it (laughs). But, I am kind of enjoying it. I have been on Twitter for quite some time now, but I feel Instagram is a quieter place.
What do you do in your free time? What are you reading currently?
I play badminton and it’s my favourite sport. I love to cook and I am into gardening. I am currently reading a wonderful book called Rivers Remember by Krupa Ge. It’s about the 2015 floods in Chennai.