The Calcutta Chromosome

The novel follows L. Murugan, an obsessive researcher fascinated by Sir Ronald Ross’s malaria research in 1898 Calcutta. His search for the mysterious “Calcutta Chromosome” leads into a complex world of secret discoveries and unexplained events.

Amitav Ghosh is an acclaimed Indian novelist and writer whose works often explore history, migration, culture and colonialism. His writing combines historical research with imaginative storytelling.

The story begins in a future setting and travels back to nineteenth-century Calcutta. L. Murugan investigates the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Ronald Ross and becomes convinced that a hidden group was responsible for a revolutionary discovery connected to malaria. As the mystery unfolds, science, religion, technology and secret knowledge become intertwined. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1997.