Indian writer and literary critic Amitav Ghosh said that he has spent a lot of time in the Sundarbans.
“It has been ingrained in my mind in such a way that I have written about it over and over,” he said while speaking at a session titled “A World Without a Centre” at the Bangla Academy's AKSB auditorium on the third day of Dhaka Lit Fest on Saturday.
Indian novelist, editor and columnist Nilanjana S Roy moderated the session.
Nobel laureate writer Abdulrazak Gurnah and Indian essayist Pankaj Mishra were also present.
Amitav Ghosh said: “What we see in today's crisis is not just destructive politics. For example, the crisis in Barisal is losing land. There are other crises that are being ignored. For example, in Italy, many caregivers are needed for elderly people. Most of them are Bangladeshi who enter the country by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. They are living in the Sahara desert and risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea. I told an Italian citizen, if you want to know what adventure is, ask your caregiver. Unbelievably, all of them are young immigrants.”
“Americans used to write more about history and politics. That has changed a lot now. For the past few years, I have seen Americans writing about former US President Donald Trump or his regime,” he added.