Man amidst Wilderness: Representation of Virulent Nature in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide

Human beings are notorious for their vicious exploitation of nature. As civilization progressed, the abuse and misuse gradually increased. Ecocritics and environmentalists have raised their concern about immediate abstinence of these mal treatments and invoked a harmonious concord several times. But it only remained as an intermittent plea that each time got enshrouded by ravenous greed of people. Man's intrusion in forests and foliages always proved catastrophic. They destroyed the harmony and looted natural assets, flora and fauna for personal gains. Literature always presented this debauchery acutely and succeeded in raising global concern many times. It has shown how the natural lifestyle gets hampered by the most intelligent species. It has shown how man can be devoid of humanity while preying upon wild animals. It has presented the ruthless nature of man in cutting down an entire forest in the name of industrialization. But very few literary pieces have shown the resentment of nature towards this race. Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide has shown the opposite tenets of human nature interface. Here humans strive every moment. Whenever they violate nature's course, it doubles the toll. This article focuses on the human expedition over nature and their consequent struggle for existence.