After reading Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide, the reader can observe how the relationships among characters change in the novel. Some relationships in particular that stood out to me were the relationships between Piya and Kanai and Piya and Fokir. In my writing, I aim to observe how these relationships change.
During the first couple of chapters, the reader is introduced to Kanai and Piya, who initially don’t seem romantically affiliated. But, from the alternating perspectives of the chapters, we can tell that Piya and Kanai are among the most important characters in the novel, which could suggest that they are, in some way, destined to be together as a couple. When they first meet, it seems almost impossible for Kanai and Piya to have feelings for each other. When Piya spills some tea on Kanai, she states that he “was the last person she would have chosen to scald with her tea” (Ghosh 8). In addition, when Piya apologizes to Kanai, Kanai says, “ ‘Do I really have a choice?’ he said in a tone more challenging than ironic. “Does anyone have a choice when they’re dealing with Americans these days?’ ” (Ghosh 9). From these quotes, the reader gets the intention that Piya and Kanai don’t appear to like each other at all. Based on what Piya says, she wanted to avoid interacting with Kanai. And Kanai appears to be looking down on Piya because she’s American. Surprisingly, after talking for some time Kanai invites Piya to visit Lusibari:
“ ‘Lucy’s House?’ Piya looked up in surprise. ‘As in the name Lucy?’/‘Yes.’ A gleam came into [Kanai’s] eyes and he said, ‘You should come and visit the lace. I’ll tell you the story of how it got its name.’/‘Is that an invitation?’ Piya said, smiling./‘Absolutely,’ Kanai responded. ‘Come. I’m inviting you. Your company will lighten the burden of my exile.’ ” (Ghosh 12).
This interaction shows that Kanai and Piya appear to be falling for each other. After this interaction, Piya even explains that she initially thought Kanai was too full of himself, but now she feels inclined to be more generous. At this point, Piya “caught sight of a glimmer of irony somewhere that made [Kanai’s] self-centeredness appear a little more interesting than she had first imagined” (Ghosh 12). Later on, when Piya and Kanai meet again in Lusibari, the reader again sees that Kanai and Piya may have feelings for each other. When Piya initially sees Moyna, Fokir’s husband, she states that she “felt a twinge of envy at the thought of her going back to Fokir and Tutul while she returned to the absence upstairs” (Ghosh 163). In addition, while Piya tells Kanai about Fokir, specifically when she talks about her working with Fokir, Kanai experiences a “stab of envy” (Ghosh 221). The envy that Piya and Kanai imply that they may indeed have feelings for each other.
On the other hand, during Piya’s journey to get to Lusibari, Piya meets Fokir. During this journey, Piya and Fokir form a relationship where they both seem to work well together. As Piya explains, “She had thought they midnight end up disrupting each other’s work–that her soundings would get in the way of his fishing or the other way around. But to her surprise no such difficulties arose…it had proved possible for two such different people to pursue their own ends simultaneously–people who could not exchange a word with each other and had no idea of what was going on in one another’s heads…[even Fokir appeared] amazed by the seamless intertwining of their pleasures and purposes” (Ghosh 118). From this quote, the reader can see that Piya acknowledges how well Fokir and her work together. Moreover, we can see that Piya admires Fokir’s abilities. Piya and Fokir appear to have a lot in common because, as Piya explains, in nature “for a long time nothing happens, then there’s a bust of explosive activity and it’s over in seconds. Very few people can adapt themselves to that kind of rhythm–one in a million, I’d say. That’s why it was so amazing to come across someone like Fokir” (Ghosh 221). Additionally, Piya states she has never met anyone with the instinct of being able to watch the water without being aware of it until she met Fokir. So far, the reader can that Piya and Fokir have a strong connection and at this moment, perhaps Piya has started to develop a liking for Fokir. This all changes when Piya, along with Fokir and Kanai, encounters a group of people killing a tiger. Kanai tells Piya that they should go back to the Megha, but Piya wants to do something about the killing since she believes that isn’t right to take revenge on an animal. Piya then tells Kanai, “If you’re not going to do anything about this, then I will. And Fokir will–I know he will” (Ghosh 242). Piya strongly believes that Fokir will do the same as she does. After all, they appear to show a strong connection with each other. When Piya takes a spear from a man and breaks it into two, the man and others start shouting at her. She then feels a hand on her elbow and finds out that it is Fokir. At this moment, “[Piya’s] heart lifted and she was assailed by both hope and a sense of relief: she was certain he would know what to do, that he would find a way to put a stop to what was going on” (Ghosh 243). To her surprise, Fokir ends up carrying her back to the boat. After this incident, Piya realizes that she and Fokir have nothing in common. Although she knew Fokir grew up killing animals, “[Piya] thought somehow he’d be different” (Ghosh 245).
