Amitav Ghosh's works

I have been reading this book called "In an Antique Land" by Amitav Ghosh and am slowly but steadily getting sucked into the book. To be frank it is but expected of Ghosh. I have read quite a few of his works and stand deeply impressed. Be it "The Hungry Tide", "The Sea of Poppies", "The Calcutta Chromosome" or the current book, I am just amazed by his story-telling abilities.

He has covered quite an array of topics, from malaria in "The Calcutta Chromosome" to dolphins in "The Hungry Tide" to Egypt and Egyptology in "In an Antique Land". These topics are so deeply researched that one starts to imagine that Ghosh is an authority on all of them. But what stands out is his ability to weave together at least three different story-lines, sometimes across three different time-lines. His characters are earthly and real and he does not miss a tryst with the mystical in most of his books. His ability to bring to life the history of the place in which the novel is set in, is simply mind-boggling.

I believe he is the recipient of numerous Awards including the Padmashri in 2007 by the Indian Government. His "Sea of Poppies", which was the first book I read written by Ghosh, was short-listed for the Booker Prize for 2008. This prize eventually went to "The White Tiger" by another Indian author Aravind Adiga. In my opiniion and I dont intend to start a controversy here, the choice of the "The White Tiger" over "The Sea of Poppies" was baffling to say the least. While "Sea of Poppies" is a fabulous tale of hope set just before the Opium Wars on a diverse set of characters sailing on a ship to Mauritius, "The White Tiger" is a very dark tale, a realistic tale, but a very dark tale that leaves you slightly shattered at the end of it. But that can be a debating point and I dont intend to start one here.

I look forward to more works by Ghosh and wish I am one day able to write like him.