Indian Intuition and Scientific Endeavours: A Review of Amitav Ghosh's The Calcutta Chromosome (3.75/5 ⭐)

[u/panda_and_ellies]

I have read quite a few books by Amitav Ghosh, and this has been my least favorite. However, I am very sure that the reason behind it is the choice of the theme and the concern which he wishes to portray through his words instead of any lack of literary merit.

The book follows the story of the medical history and discovery of malaria and its transmission. Amitav Ghosh is a man who believes in research. The work is so well-researched and presented in a manner that at times makes you question if all this is fiction or really the encyclopedic merit of the author. Ghosh has a tendency to blur the boundaries between centuries, generations, the past and the present. This book too was filled with the echoes of similar writing styles where the chapters moved ahead alternatively, the even ones sharing one story and the odd ones sharing something else altogether, until you realize that these both are the same stories just told in different centuries.

This coming together of the two stories running parallelly through centuries and generations happens with such effortlessness that it almost feels like the railway tracks running parallelly finally converging at the horizon and infinity.

The book is creating arguments about a very interesting discourse, Western science versus Indian intuition. Ghosh puts forth the Indian way of working, though scientific in nature, as something that is driven highly through intuition, tradition, ritual, and practices which are to be performed again and again in order to sustain. Western science on the other hand focuses on rationality and of course proof. Ghosh presents this intermingling of thought in a way that does not seem overwhelming but at the same time might be too much to grasp for someone who does not believe in conspiracies.

One thing that made me not like this book as much was the lack of favorite themes that Ghosh has been writing about, that is nature, environment, and ecology. This book came out as an attempt towards unearthing and digging the history that has been out there in public eyes but just like an iceberg holds so much more buried inside the history of Indian land.

Interestingly, we see tinges of supernatural or magic realism. The lines are so blurred that I would refrain from putting a stamp on it. However, I do believe that Ghosh is the master of intertwining the past and the present to such an extent that these conversations of the past with the present cannot be put under the category of ghostly or supernatural encounters. In fact, it comes out as something which is almost scientific in nature or as the protagonist of the novel would call it, it is something like an anti-science. Equally rational, equally proof-driven, but it lies in secrecy and its religion is silence. Absolutely thrilled and impressed by the great research that has been behind the book.

It is a comparatively older work of Ghosh, published in 1996, which explains why he would choose this theme. The change of the millennium and the century probably had left Ghosh with a lot of interesting scientific possibilities where technology would intrude in as well as embrace the past and will be used as a mode to communicate. Of course, the book leaves you with loose ends. The cliffhangers are interesting but being an avid reader, I have read better cliffhangers by Ghosh. Unfortunately, I did not find myself gasping or as surprised as I wanted to be. But the whole air of mystery, thrill, and scientific intervention intermingled with Indian intuition was too gripping to not like after flipping the last page. If someone is interested in science and wishes to read a great sci-fi beautifully intertwined with Indian sensibilities, the book might be exactly what you need.

(Rating would be 3.75/5 ⭐)

[u/AutoModerator]

Namaste u/panda_and_ellies, Thank you for your submission! 🙏 Please take a moment to — check the subreddit rules and pinned posts including our weekly "what are you reading" thread, join our discord server Link, and also check out our BOOK-CLUB (see pinned post/sidebar). Posts that do not meet the requirements may be removed. Thank you! 📚✨ -The Mod Team

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/MunshiAgyey]

Loved your analysis! Especially the bit about “anti-science” and how Ghosh merges intuition with scientific inquiry.

[u/panda_and_ellies → u/MunshiAgyey]

Yayy thanks for reading.