Customary Practices in Amitav Ghosh‘s Sea of Poppies

Indian society is made up of a number of various castes and classes. The first novel in Amitav Ghosh‘s Ibis trilogy has a village as its background. The life of the people in the village is so complex and is bound to the customs and traditions of the society. Familial situations often compel its members to make certain negotiations. Adverse circumstances in life impel to go in search of new fortune. While certain characters in Amitav Ghosh‘s Sea of Poppies ever cling to the patterns of the society others at certain crucial moments in their life are able to go beyond their belief patterns. This paper presents the various belief and practices of the people and describes how some transcend their mentality at the face of certain circumstances.