Cultural Exchange and Human Values in Amitav Ghosh’s ‘River of Smoke’: A Study

Abstract

The study explores the elements of cultural exchange present in the novel ‘River of Smoke’ by Amitav Ghosh. It also analyses culture in
terms of human values. The ‘River of smoke’ is the second novel in the Ibis Trilogy and all the three novels in the series predominantly deal
with subaltern history with main characters drawn from three countries. The novel is abundant with the elements of cultural exchange. Ghosh
writes on themes like travel, diaspora, history, political struggle, colonialism, culture etc., which move across continents and oceans. The
issues related to colonised societies, formation of identities in colonial and post-colonial settings, lost or suppressed history, multiple cultures,
and differences are effectively dealt by him in his novels. As per the ‘cultural exchange’ theory, the following areas of the novel must be
explored: the connection between geographical area and socio-cultural practices of the people, the role of the mediators or the social agents,
the elements of cultural exchange like assimilation, enculturation, etc and cultural traits of the characters. The characters in the novel exhibit
certain human values through their social behaviour. The values or the loss of values of the characters due to the changing circumstances
are also effectively brought out in the study.