Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta, a city which he regards as a constant that runs through all his work. His father was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the army, whose assignments meant that during his youth Ghosh spent time in Sri Lanka, Iran and East Pakistan (later Bangladesh), while being based at boarding school in India. Much of his writing focuses on families and one branch of his own family lived in Burma (Myanmar), a connection which he has traced, in fictional form, in
The Glass Palace(2000), particularly drawing on the experience of his uncle, the timber-merchant Jagat Chandra Dutta.
Ghosh attended Doon School in Dehra Dun and one of New Delhi's most illustrious educational institutions, St. Stephen's College, during a period which he has seen as characterized by a nationalist
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Citation: Thieme, John. "Amitav Ghosh". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1725, accessed 22 November 2024.]
