Rating -3/5Copy - Amazon Kindle
Sanjeev Sanyal, in a highly readable book that gently takes you through the twists & turns of India’s history from the standpoint of her geographical nature – rivers, mountains, flora & fauna. This book immerses the reader as the book keeps up the constant engagement & does not over-burden the reader with historical facts & meandering stories. Along the way, we pass thought the familiar places & clans that serve as cornerstone to Indian history– the Harappa, the Aravalli ridges, the Mughals, the Guptas the British & their mapmakers. A noteworthy departure from the flow is the passage on the genetic testing which has led to linkages between Europeans and North Indians.
The book is more on the impressionist survey of India’s geography & how the geography shaped India’s history. The passage on Age of Lions & its connection through decades is a revelation. However, the author meanders away from the Geography & steps into the episodes of power struggle in empires. The book also makes little attempt to cover the agriculture evolution, the relationship between the Indians & their environment.
Often we come across the passage that offers grandiose but fails to go a step deeper:“The brand new city of Gurgaon, is constructed right next to the Aravalli ridges, the oldest discernible geographical feature. If you look north from one of the city’s tall office blocks, you will see the Qutub Minar, built by a Turkish slave-general to commemorate the conquest of Delhi.”
From the time the first humans enter India from the Persian Gulf to the culmination of the rise of modern India, the author deftly takes you through the long sweeping history of India. What is lacked in the analysis & insights is made up with an impressive flow of the book.
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