In his hotel suite in Chennai, on the penultimate leg of his book launch tour, Amitav Ghosh begins pretty much where his book Smoke and Ashes does: with a cup of tea. But just as his book covers a lot of ground, there’s much more engaging conversation up ahead: the sway of poppy in the world, China, imperialism, geopolitics, climate change... his favourite themes, his preferred medium of writing... In his forthright, erudite manner, he calls out whataboutery, but with a gentleness that is, today, as quaint as it is charming. Since his first book was published in 1986 (The Circle of Reason), Amitav Ghosh has emerged as one of the most articulate post-colonial writers of import. His oeuvre today, spanning 20 books, and straddling several genres, stands testimony to his stature as a polestar among Indian writers in English. In a conversation with The Hindu, this much-feted writer talks about how poppy continues to be more important to world events than we realise. Edited excerpts:
