Sea of Poppies

Toward the end of the winter, Deeti sees a “vision of a tall-masted ship, at sail on the ocean” despite living “so far inland that the sea seemed as distant as the netherworld,” which she takes as a sign of destiny (3). Deeti and her husband, Hukam Singh, are high-caste Rajputs who live on the outskirts of Ghazipur in northern Behar, India, with their daughter, Kabutri. Deeti works in the fields growing poppy, while her husband works at a nearby opium factory in the town proper.

Deeti and Hukam have been married for seven years, but Deeti is still “not much more than a child herself” (4). In appearance, she stands out from others due to her light grey eyes, an unusual feature in the region, and one that makes “her seem at once blind and all-seeing” (5). After seeing her husband off, she heads out to begin the day’s work, ignoring her brother-in-law’s “jibes” as she does (6).

Later in the day, while Deeti and Kabutri are down at the river, Kabutri, looking at a small English barge, asks her mother where the ship is going, which triggers the vision of the large ship. Kabutri asks if her mother can draw the ship, and when they return home, Deeti takes her daughter into her shrine room, draws the ship, and includes the picture along with her family pantheon.