Book Review - "In an Antique Land"

"In an Antique Land" by Amitav Ghosh is a anthropology cum fictional book, which describes the experience of the author in an Egyptian rural land in the 1980s, while he is tracking the life of an Indian slave to an Egyptian master (in the 12th Century). The striking feature of the book is that even though it tracks the life of people in the 12th century, none of them are kings or higher up. The major protagonist in the book is an Indian slave - who makes a journey to Egypt.

To set things straight, this is not a book which would be a page turner - in the sense that if you re looking for a novel that completes in a day, this is not your cup of tea. This is partly due to two reasons - If you are not familiar with the basic Jewish and Arabic names, it takes a bit of time to sink in. Secondly, the fact that there are a barrage of new names, and the book switches between the 12th and 20th century, and between Egypt and India, it takes a bit of time to adjust your mind to that setting!

Having said that, the way that the author managed to track the life of the slave through scraps of paper, mutilated through time, weather, war and dissipated through the human greed is breath-taking. The part, where all hope is lost - and the slave's name is deciphered, especially, was a bit of work which required perseverance, skill, luck, patience and great insight. Also great is the way that the entire life of a merchant was chronicled 800 years after his death, with scraps of paper to help.

The author's time in Egypt, again, brought provocative thoughts to my mind. The way that the rural mindset made their minds up about the good or bad, based on a particular religious practice makes one wonder how much pre-conceived notions make us opinionated, and not always in a rational sense. It also made me wonder whether with my current knowledge, are the decisions that I make rational.

Yet the contemporary examples (mutually independent and exclusive ones in both India and Egypt) of how miraculous individuals still had a mark over the fate over the village's infrastructure long after their death, made me wonder whether divided through geographies, culture and languages, aren't we all same? It's easy to forget that today.

The constant etymological references also brought about how India and Egypt have been related through the years, and how some parts of each culture have blended into the original cultures of the respective countries. Another inference to be drawn from this is that through time, names which were considered moderate have now taken an extreme turn. For example, any person who was working his way up the corporate ladder in the 12th century was a slave!

The book also highlights how even though a villager may be far from home, a first-generation expat always has his heart back at home- and how he wants to come back after striking it big (in most cases!). Essentially the protagonists have been highlighted as simple people with simple hearts.

The book ultimately ends with an ironical reference to how the key papers to the slave's identity were being guarded with top-class American security - a reference that things we think to be the most important, may actually have little consequence for us - a point for most to reflect on.

All in all, I think that one may read the book on two planes - superficially, in which there are two parallel tales, seperated through time. The way it has been presented make it an interesting read. However, the second plane (and the charm of the book lies in it) is living through the entire experience, and being able to visualize it. So, if you want to know how ships coming in from Egypt looked to the eyes of a 12th century commoner, or know how an Egyptian villager celebrates his brother's wedding, grab a copy at your nearest store!