Publisher :
Penguin
ISBN :
978-0-143-42093-4
Year of Publication : 2013
No of Pages :
322
Cover
:
Paper Back
Language :
English
Author : Sanjeev Sanyal
Type : Non-Fiction History
Price : INR 399
Rating : 5/ 5
Sanjeev Sanyal
has written in an author’s note that he is not a historian or geographer
and also has not taken any formal training on this field then also i must say
because of his exploration to India’s rivers, mountains and cities, visiting
ancient archaeological sites, crosses rivers in boat and immerse himself in old
records and manuscripts has given a tremendous materials to the readers. Its a
mind-blowing non-fiction book i have read on Indian Geography. The land of the seven rivers is a curious
journey through the different rivers of India, the Harappans, the Vedas,
Ashoka, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the various cities of India, the Mughals,
the British, mapmakers, Partition of India, the rapid growth of Gurgoan, the
call-centers etc . This book is about ancient trade routes cultural linkage the
rise and fall of cities.
The book is a complete history of the formation of
India, starting from pre-history and the formation of the Indian Subcontinent.
It traces the breakaway from Gondwana - the supercontinent, introduces the
theory of plate tectonics, and explains how India collided with Asia. How
amazing sanjeev has written that Gondwana which was the super continent of
which India was part – along with Africa, South America, Antarctica and
Australia – millions of years ago which was drifting like an ice berg. The
author has given brief history of four civilization. The first was the Harappan or Indus-Saraswati
civilisation in north-west India and parts of present-day Pakistan, which was
at its peak between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It had disappeared by 1400 BC, as the
Saraswati river from which it drew its sustenance dried up.
The second civilisation, which belonged to the
period between 1300 BC and 400 BC, was located in the Gangetic plains. Its main
cities were Pataliputra (the imperial capital), Taxila (an intellectual hub
near present-day Islamabad), the port of Tamralipti in the east (across the
river from Kolkata), Kaushambi (near Allahabad), Varanasi, Rajgir and Ujjain.
The third cycle of urbanisation was centred on
Delhi, the most prominent city of this phase, which began with the sacking of
Prithviraj Chauhan’s Delhi and ended six and a half centuries later with the
sacking of Mughal Delhi in the wake of the failed revolt of 1857.
The fourth cycle which is currently in which we are
all living which is well under way in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
By the first century AD, there was a flourishing
maritime trade between India and the kingdoms to the west, as well as with
Southeast Asian kingdoms. Ships sailing from West Asia to India brought Italian
and Arabian wine to modern-day Bharuch in Gujarat, and India even ran a large
trade surplus with the Graeco-Roman world. The resulting constant one-way flow
of gold and silver coins at one stage even forced Roman Emperor Vespasian to
discourage the import of Indian luxury goods and ban the export of gold to
India. Clearly, the Indian love of gold, silver and imported alcohol is not new.
Sanjeev has particularly explores the mentions of
lions and tigers in the hunting stories, in the royal emblems and in names
adopted by certain communities. Another theme is history of cartography and the
role it played in the history. In the last chapter it is well written
that ‘extraordinary
transformation’ India is undergoing: of mobile phones and satellite
televisions, of rising apartment blocks and the expanding map of highways, of
economic boom and rapid changes.
“Land of the Seven Rivers” by Sanjeev Sanyal is a
fantastic attempt to talk to us simply about our heritage. Its a quick read and
doesn't bore you. The only area I found the book lacking is, I expected
more maps and pictorial representations also their should be world map in this
book. I recommend this book to every Indian strongly. Even though i have given
a detailed review of this book than also i think i have left many parts of this
book so just grab this book and you will get a very good and detailed history
of India.
The things which i liked most in this book:
- · Chess was played in Harappan civilization also Shindur(Indian women put in their forehead) and Namaste is 4000 Years old tradition which are still followed in India.
- · Ayurveda is the oldest medical treatment which was followed before Christ. Also modern plastic surgery is derived through Ayurveda at the time of Tipu Sultan.
- · Indian’s are having 25-30% of world Gold.
- · Rust free Iron pillar in Delhi build by successor of Chandragupt Maurya.
- · The Indian mathematician Aryabhatta was the first person who told that earth was Spherical and that it rotated on an axis and also circumference of earth and the ratio of pi all this thousand of years before Copernicus and Galileo.
- · The meaning of Gayatri Mantra in very simple way given by Sanjeev Sanyal : As you light up the Heavens and the Earth, O Radiant Sun, So light up my Mind and Soul
About the author:
Sanjeev Sanyal is an Indian Ecnomist, an
alumni of Delhi University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholor. He is
currently Deutshe Bank's global strategist. The Indian Renaissance, Economist, environmentalist and urban theorist.
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