After finishing the Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, one particular thing stuck out to me that 3 of the characters embodied. Those 3 characters being Kanai, Piya, and Moyna all had western values instilled in them. What do I mean by “western values”? Obviously each country has its own culture and values that it upholds and countries like the U.S and India are no different. In the U.S we tend to value individualism more as well as see jobs that do not require some form of higher level education as undesirable. Kanai, Piya, and Moyna all act as a sort of foil to Fokir where all of them are educated in some sense. Kanai runs a a business that is doing well and knows multiple languages, Piya is doing research as a marine biologist, and Moyna is working towards becoming a doctor. Fokir on the other hand is a simple fisherman who lacks the ability to read and write yet excels in almost every other category he is needed for. Despite the plethora of characters we meet throughout the story, Fokir is the only one with intimate knowledge about the rivers of the Sundarbans and because of that contributes to Piyas research greatly. While Piya admires Fokir for his aid, his own wife Moyna, almost resents him for not realizing his own lack of “education”. While Moynas point stands, she also fails to realize the wealth of knowledge Fokir has.
Fokir being knowledgeable about how the rivers work and how they act is integral to the people that live there. He helps provide not only his own family but others with food through his fishing and even provides a source of music for Piya once her walkman gets stolen. Although it is important to educate oneself and learn the basic abilities to read and write as well as do math, many judge people harshly based on their own values. Not being able to do math as well as others for example does not make them any less intelligent compared to another. I had a professor tell me that the true hallmark of intelligence is curiosity and I believe all four characters embody that ideal well. Fokir knows his craft as do the other people around him yet none of them except maybe Piya praise him for being well versed in it. It’s a craft that perhaps maybe a 100 or so years down the line that may be extinct and people will wish that it was preserved.
