Ambassador, New Delhi – IHCL SeleQtions Hosts a Literary Evening with Award-Winning Author Amitav Ghosh to Celebrate the Launch of His Latest Novel, Ghost-Eye

New Delhi, 12th January, 2025 - Ambassador, New Delhi — IHCL SeleQtions, hosted the India launch of Ghost-Eye, the much-anticipated new novel by celebrated author Amitav Ghosh, at The Dome on Monday evening. The literary evening featured an engaging conversation between Amitav Ghosh and novelist and critic Keshava Guha, bringing together leading voices from literary and cultural circles.

Published by HarperCollins India, Ghost-Eye is a richly layered novel that moves between late-1960s Calcutta and contemporary Brooklyn, exploring themes of memory, identity, reincarnation and humanity’s evolving relationship with the natural world.

Speaking at the launch of his new novel, Amitav Ghosh said, “Ghost-Eye grew out of my long-standing fascination with memory - not just personal memory, but the deeper, more elusive ways in which lives, places and histories seem to echo across time. The novel reflects my attempt to understand how the past continually asserts itself, and how identity is shaped as much by inheritance as by lived experience.”

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Mandeep Surie, General Manager, Ambassador, New Delhi — IHCL SeleQtions, said, “It was a privilege for us to host the India launch of Ghost-Eye, the latest novel by the acclaimed author Amitav Ghosh at Ambassador, New Delhi – IHCL SeleQtions. The hotel has long shared a close association with literature and cultural dialogue, and it is rewarding to be part of an evening that brings together distinguished voices and engaged audiences to celebrate storytelling and ideas.”

The novel opens with a quietly unsettling moment: three-year-old Varsha Gupta, raised in a strictly vegetarian household, insists on eating fish and speaks of memories from another life. Her case captures the attention of psychologist Dr. Shoma Bose, who documents it as part of her research into reincarnation. Years later, the case re-emerges, drawing Dr. Bose’s nephew into an expansive inquiry that connects forgotten lives, environmental activism and hidden histories across continents.

The launch carried a note of nostalgia as Amitav Ghosh shared fond memories from his earlier years in Delhi and his connection with Ambassador, New Delhi — IHCL SeleQtions. The setting of The Dome at hotel provided an elegant backdrop for literary exchange, followed by audience interaction. The

evening concluded with thoughtfully curated culinary offerings at the hotel’s iconic dining destination, Yellow Brick Road, extending the experience in a relaxed and convivial setting.

ABOUT AMITAV GHOSH

Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta, and grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; he studied in Delhi, Oxford and Alexandria. He is the author of several acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, the Ibis Trilogy (comprising the novels Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke and Flood of Fire), Gun Island, The Great Derangement, The Nutmeg’s Curse, Jungle Nama and The Living Mountain. Amitav Ghosh’s work has been translated into more than thirty languages. He has been awarded and felicitated across the world. In 2019 Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the past decade. The same year, the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour, was conferred on him: he was the first English language writer to receive it.

About Ambassador, New Delhi - IHCL SeleQtions:

Set in the aristocratic heart of New Delhi, Ambassador is a contemporary hotel serving up a slice in time. Just a short drive from the international airport, it ushers leisure and business travelers into a red-brick and pink bougainvillea neighborhood, surrounded by plush shopping districts, gardens and magnificent monuments. With its British and Art Deco architectural medley, the Ambassador offers guests a chance to live a refined New Delhi life in its greenest district. The luxury boutique 5-star is an INTACH Heritage Building built in 1947, the year that India gained independence and Lutyens, named after the British architect who built most of modern New Delhi, became the epicentre of the city’s intelligentsia. Green/Sustainability certification and cheery design elements infuse a millennial vibe into the nostalgia-tinted spaces. The hotel’s culinary offerings are some of the finest in New Delhi. The exclusive Gourmands Itinerary lets diners experience signature dishes from all restaurants at one price, starting with aperitifs at Insomnia, moving to colonial-era classics at Yellow Brick Road and ending with Cantonese and Szechuan cuisines at Larry’s China. Ambassador’s versatile banqueting venues are designed to execute flawless events, from corporate meetings and champagne soirees to glitzy weddings.