Ibis Trilogy - Arvind, Syl, Jaya, et al.

[Ahtims]

I too haven't heard from them :P
I think Kalua died? Deeti was shown as an old woman in the beginning... and is the rest of it a flashback or something?
This is a bit confusing.

[E.T.]

Of the 5 who escaped -> Neel , Ah Fatt went to Singapore and have featured in this book. Serang Ali and Jodu (AKA lascar Azad) went together to Burma, right ? I too have forgotten what happened to Kalua.

[Ahtims]

What were those first few pages about - Deeti and her progeny and clan going to that enclave on top - Deeti's shrine.. that is supposedly a few years after the shipwreck.

Then suddenly the story of the people a few months after the wreck is told.

And I remember Deeti thinking/saying Kalua died in the initial pages - how /when /why - I dont remember reading.

[E.T.]

I think u r mistaken in thinking that Kalua is dead.
I searched in my Kindle ebook and last of Kalua is that he went with Serang Ali and Jodu to Burma. We havent heard from d 3 of them since.

[Jaya]

Kalua died? I mean will he die so soon? I presumed that this is all flashbacks.
I thought Colvers were an affluent bunch, so must have returned sometime and establish his business...

[E.T.]

I couldnt resist peeking in d ebook. There r no Kalua, Jodu, Serang Ali or Zachary in this book. If there is one thing about Ghosh that i hate , it is this abrupt disposal of characters after we learn so much about them :(

[Jaya]

Third book is all about zachary...

[Ahtims]

Let us be patient and see what happens:-)
I am stopping at. page 215.. shall read more if I get time later tonight.

[Jaya]

Can either of you tell me who was Jodu? I cant recall :(

[Ahtims]

that boy who is the son of Paulette's ayah - who saved her life when mother died at childbirth

[Jaya]

Achha... So he would be Robin's half brother? Why was he on the ship? Accompanying paulette or for something else?

Arrghh i dont remember anything it seems :-l

[Ahtims]

Eh!
Robin is different, na... his father was that Chikkeni fellow (forgot the exact name) - the almost famous painter who had a Bengali lady paramour, who was initially haughty, but when the fellow fled leaving her in dire straits, started becoming more down to earth. That lady and Paulette's ayah were acquaintances or somethng.
Robin is the bengali dame's son who is half Indian, Jodu is Paulette ayah's son who is full Indian.
Robin, Jodu and Paulette were sort of friends, till Robin painted them nude ( though they were fully dressed while posing) and the other two felt umbrage.

[Jaya]

Yes yes yes :D i got confused and thought they had same fathers :P

Thank you sooo much. I was at that part only where robin was being introduced.

[Ahtims]

welcome, welcome.,A rare circumstance when I am the one who is explaining. B-)

[Jaya]

Heeeeheee just wait, il give you many more such opportunities :P
And then i will have to face your umbrage ;)

[E.T.]

"...Asha-didi’s kitchen-boat was the one establishment, along the entire length of the Pearl River, that provided fare that an Achha (Indian) could enjoy with untroubled relish, knowing that it would contain neither beef nor pork, nor any odds and ends of creatures that barked, or mewed, or slithered, or chattered in the treetops: mutton and chicken, duck and fish were the only dead animals she offered."
Reminded of my Macau trip when somebody exclaimed "Aaj Khana milega" and ordered Butter Chicken at an Indian restaurant. And I realised that Chinese non-veg food is completely different and Indian tourists avoid it.

[E.T.]

Hey Amitav Ghosh, u named it the 'Ibis' trilogy.
Where is Ibis in this book ? Could have been d 'Opium/Poppy' trilogy ?

[Ahtims]

Arvind, me being veggie had a tough time in Japan. Had to subsist on atrociously priced apple, banana and bread, and occasional lumps of glutinous rice without any accompaniment when hunger overtook.

[Ahtims]

great minds!
I was about to ask why it is Ibis? was,it the boat in the first book?

[Ahtims]

But Ibis got destroyed by the end of the book. Perhaps I is sounded much posh than Poppy trilogy :-P

[E.T.]

Syl. A.k.a Topo di biblioteca wrote: "great minds!
I was about to ask why it is Ibis? was,it the boat in the first book?"
:) Ibis wasnt destroyed though. If u remember when Paulette set sail with Fitcher from Mauritius, it was there. And it had completed its voyage to Mauritius. Floods of Fire should see Ibis again...

[E.T.]

Syl. A.k.a Topo di biblioteca wrote: "Arvind, me being veggie had a tough time in Japan. Had to subsist on atrociously priced apple, banana and bread, and occasional lumps of glutinous rice without any accompaniment when hunger overtook."
We vegeterians living in Gujarat have some relief in the 'Theplas/Khakhras' that we carry :)

[Ahtims]

Ohhh.. why did I think it was destroyed..!
Perhaps overimagination !
Then he may be right in naming it Ibis series.

[Jaya]

Is it ibis because they all converged at Ibis? And thats how the journey began...

There was one more detailed description of food on page 143, i actually bookmarked that page. It described all sorts of Parsi fare, which is a personal favorite as well :D

@ syl. A family friend, who is a vegetarian had similar problems, he survived on maggi and instant oats thay he carried from here..

[Ahtims]

Jaya, I had taken MTR readyfood, but couldn't be in the hotel during mealtimes as we were wandering around..
Breakfast and Dinner was usually the Indian food that we had carried along. In between whatever we could forage :P

I too like the various food descriptions in the book. I dont know of any Parsi food, though have heard of Dhansak.

[Jaya]

Actually it described both parsi and goan... But yes usually meat/ fish mixed with veggies.
Dhansak and patrani machhi mentioned are parsi
The sorpotel and xacuti are goanese...

I am big foodie so always pay special attention to its descriptions :D



But i can imagine how difficult it is to locate food that suits you in a place whose eating culture is soo different than ours... ( including the chinese chinese as opposed to indian chinese)

[Ahtims]

I love experiencing different food too - my limitation is my ovolactovegetarianism.

[Jaya]

Ah here is a new word. What does it mean? :)

[Ahtims]

egg/milk/veggies khanewala

[Jaya]

Ohh ok ok

[E.T.]

We call it 'eggiterianism' here in Surat :P
This Asha-didi has just one page with a couple of dialogues in d entire book which would have been edited out in any thriller/novel.
And I think every character who has a name in these books also has his history/current-affairs described to us, right ? Those descriptions beautifully add to d larger history.

[E.T.]

The only thing is to keep out 'Napoleon' type passages that do add nothing. But it was rare and hence passable.

[Jaya]

I am a bit amused. It is mentioned that women were not allowed in Canton. So during the entertainments, the men dance with each other?!
I don't think iv ever read about any such thing in context of India or Europe. Have you?

[Ahtims]

It was hilarious to see the men asking each other to be partners. I too never heard of it.

[Jaya]

i actually went through that part twice just to ensure =D

[Ahtims]

Reading about the conception of the Celestial Chrestomathy. :-)

[Ahtims]

Reading about China has made me thirst fLetter from Pekingor more
So far I remember reading various Pearl S Buck books like The Good Earth, and more recently, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,some Amy Tan books, and a non fiction called Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

Will be searching around for books on China. Hope I luck out.

[E.T.]

If u read history non-fiction, there is John Keay's China : A history. Havent read it, but d author was gr8 in India : a history and India discovered.

[Jaya]

Oh wow you' ve read his work on India. I want to read that, thw book is quite costly:(

[Ahtims]

Am not a great fan of non fiction.., thanks for the suggestion, though:-)

I was getting mildly nauseated by the Chinese feast Behram is currently enjoying (pp.288-90)

[E.T.]

Brought India : A history from d library :)
The other one - India discovered is a must-read and its slim at 200 pages and not costly.

[E.T.]

88 courses ! As a child, I was told by a cousin that there was a great famine in China in d 1960s and they started eating everything. The image stuck and while they do eat 'everything', this habit is much older !

[Jaya]

:) thank you, added it in my cart. This is going to be my next buy!

[Jaya]

@ syl: lagging behind, not there yet.

[Jaya]

In india we have this concept of chhappan bhog (56) but nowhere near 88 O.O

[Ahtims]

Reached part 3 - Commissioner Kim.

Some points I pondered upon
1. the word play on various nicknames of Puggli
2. The greed of humans in general and opium trade in particular. I don't remember being taught this in school, but my son says that they have been taught about opium and indigo trade and how India was affected.

[Jaya]

At point 2, yes syl, i remember in 8th and 9th or may be 10 th std being taught about indigo and opium trade. There was some trade triangle theory/ concept between india, china and england which iv forgotton. Ohh and there was tea plantations as well. How the brits wld force cash crops like indigo, tea, opium and ruin the existing economic system

@ point 1 you noticed that too
: D i found it endearing

[E.T.]

The scale of d opium trade and d associated colonialism stunned me.

[Jaya]

It was one of the mainstays of their entire economic strength, the English, I mean.

[E.T.]

True. Thanks to Ghosh for bringing out the thuggery and hypocrisy.
BTW, me too in part 3 , 1 chapter done. Loved d re-entry of Ibis, d loony Nob Kissan and Burnham. Really looking fwd to Floods of Fire.