Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, a memoir and an excursion into history, both economic and cultural.

Described as a “travelogue, memoir, and an excursion into history”, the book traces the effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China. In India, the book examines the impact this had particularly on Kolkata and Mumbai. Once he started researching the subject of his Ibis trilogy — opium, Author Amitav Ghosh said that he realised the power certain myths acquire in silencing history. In Wyndham and Bannerjee, Mukherjee has created two appealing characters presenting different factions of the whole that is India, revealing what each gives up to serve king and country, and answers the question of which country each actually serves." New York Journal of Books This story is remarkable, and revelatory, because at the heart of it lies a plant—the opium poppy. While many other plants, like sugarcane, tobacco and cotton, have played major roles in history, their importance has faded over time. The opium poppy, on the other hand, has gone from strength to strength; it is now more powerful than ever, manifesting itself in the devastating opioid crises that currently grip the globe. Smoke and Ashes tells the story of how this common and deceptively humble plant has shaped the modern world, and the key part it is now playing in the unmaking of that world.Opium trade did not just influence various aspects of commercial and economic life, but also patterns of demography. Large number of people from the trading community from western India began to settle in Kolkata. The commercial character of Mumbai came from the nature of opium relations in that part of the country as did the very colonial character of Kolkata,” he said. But Wyndham finds himself in a tight spot when he stumbles across a corpse in an opium den. When he then comes across a second body bearing the same injuries, Wyndham is convinced that there's a deranged killer on the loose. Opium is such an important part of our economic history, but has almost been erased from our understanding of the world. It has left permanent marks on eastern and western India, in a very significant sense,” the author said on Thursday at the launch of his new book Smoke and Ashes: A writer’s journey through Opium’s hidden histories. He was in conversation with singer and activist T.M. Krishna. The book is also a very personal look at Amitav Ghosh’s own engagement with opium’s hidden histories – this is at one level a writer’s memoir, with deep insights into the process of writing the Ibis Trilogy.

AMITAV GHOSH was born in Calcutta, and grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; he studied in Delhi, Oxford and Alexandria. He is the author of several acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, the Ibis Trilogy (comprising the novels Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke and Flood of Fire), Gun Island, The Great Derangement, The Nutmeg’s Curse, Jungle Nama and The Living Mountain. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Smoke and Ashes is one of the most powerful, thought-provoking works of non-fiction I have read in some time. We at HarperCollins India are privileged to be the first publisher to bring this exceptional book to readers, before its publication elsewhere across the world. I can hardly wait for booklovers everywhere to read and respond to what is most certainly, for me, the non-fiction book of the year.” Described as a “travelogue, memoir, and an excursion into history”, the book traces the effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China. In India, the book examines the impact this had particularly on Kolkata and MumbaiComments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. Use italics (lyric) and bold (lyric) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part Udayan Mitra, Executive Publisher, HarperCollins India, says, “ Smoke and Ashes simply took my breath away. Like so many readers around the world, I have read and admired everything Amitav Ghosh has ever published—but Smoke and Ashes is one of those books that left an impact at a very intrinsic level. Here Amitav recounts the fascinating journey—into economic, social and cultural history—he undertook as he researched and then wrote the Ibis Trilogy, and tells us how the discoveries that he made influenced him, both as an individual and as a writer. As he peels layer after layer off perceptions and understandings of Indian and Chinese history, trade patterns and cultural imperatives, our view of the past that has shaped the world we inhabit today expands progressively, and gains a deeper, sharper focus. At the heart of Smoke and Ashes is the incredible story of the opium poppy and its defining role in the making and unmaking of the modern world: it is a hidden history that invites deep reflection.