From Roots to Routes

This paper examines the diasporic formations in Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh through the conceptual framework of the theory “hybridity and the Third Space” by the theorist Homi K. Bhabha. The phrase ‘Roots to Routes’ from the title refers to themovement from fixed identities rooted in caste, kinship, and homeland to new identities formed through migration and maritime mobility. This study aims to show that diaspora is not merely a separation from homeland but a process of transformation. The crossing of the kala pani leads to the loss of caste and traditional social bonds in the novel and the ship Ibis becomes a liminal space where new relationships and communities are formed. By foregrounding maritime passage as a site of negotiation and reconstruction, Ghosh redefines diaspora as dynamic becoming rather than static loss. By reading the ship as a “Third Space,” this paper argues that identity in Sea of Poppies is negotiated rather than fixed

Diaspora · Foregrounding · Homeland · Liminality · Negotiation · Phrase · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Indian History and Philosophy · South Asian Studies and Diaspora