Revisiting a book once read is like visiting a lover from the past. The context remains while the person has altered. As a rule, I seldom read a book twice; I am afraid that the book will not hold my attention as it did in the past; Just like the past which has given way to newer selves! But alas! I had to revisit The Hungry Tide this time not as a curious reader but as a teacher. Several doubts assailed my mind - whether I would enjoy the book as I once did or would I be able to recreate the book as it unfolded in my mind way back.
And so, I began rereading The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh!
To my dismay, save the names of the characters and some important details, I seem to have forgotten most of the details of the book. But yes, I remember the conditions that surrounded me while I dived into the text. It was the halcyon days of my student years when reading a book meant no other responsibilities or tasks to compete and complete. I was free of deadlines and my mom would take care of my meals as I was still at home and enjoyed the pleasures of a warm and cozy abode. I allowed myself to be moved by the book feeling the pleasures of the book alongside partaking in the world created by Ghosh. How could I possibly recreate this for my students? When I delved further and further into the book, I realised that I gradually remembered the plot and the various entanglements that it led me into - in short, if revisiting a book could bring so much joy then I don't mind the past appearing before me! But I also knew that not all books could create the same pleasure. There are few other books which I had attempted to read but abandoned them due to a restlessness that bordered on part boredom and part agony. But The Hungry Tide was nothing like that. as I progressed into the lives of Piya, Kanai, Fokir, Kusum, Moyna, Nirmal, Nilima, Horen and Tutul, I felt as though I knew them earlier but now I understand them clearer.
Ghosh is a master weaver of stories. The mixing of history, story and geography is done quite deftly creating a masterpiece that moves the reader. I remember how the worldviews of Piya and Fokir were light years apart yet they find a common ground; I recollect the mad idealism of Nirmal and think of my own Professor with the same name and a similar madness; I remember the anguish that I felt when certain events occur in the plot.
While revisiting the novel for a class seemed inevitable, I still don't know how to lead the students through the paths that I knew of The Hungry Tide. Will the tide touch their lives, is something only time will unfold. Until then, I revel in the stupor of the revisit!
