BOOKS | The Aryans

THE BOOKS

These are stories set in the Bronze age of India. You have read about the Ehypian ciivilisation and Mesopotamian Civilisation. You know all about the Pharaohs of Egypt and Babylon of Sumer. Now read about the civilisation which at its peak covered over million square kilometres and was bigger than both the Egyptian, Sumerian and Hittite civilisations put together. At its peak around 2600 BCE it had over 500,000 population. The engineering skills was beyond any seen during that time. Engineering skills and astronomical knowledge was exceptional. Civic amenities such as regular water supply to every house hold, covered drainage, paved roads, indoor toilets were the norm in all the major cities during that period when the Egyptians were just beginning to build their first pyramids.

Over 1600 sites have been excavated and that is less than 20% of known sites of the region extending from Afgahnistan and Iran in the west to Bangladesh in the east and down to Vindya hills in the south.

Thousands of seals have been unearthed containing script which defies the best computers and experts in the field. There have been numerous effort made to decipher the script and there may be a light at the end of tunnel due to efforts by experts across the world.

Shankar Kashyap has used the knowledge from archaeological excavations and information in the Vedic scriptures of India to create a living world of the Harappans - term used for the people of Indus Valley Civilisation. Many people now believe that the Harappans were the composers of the huge corpus of the Vedas - considered the largest and earliest compositions known to man.

Harappa: The Lure of Soma

This is the first book of the series. It was the drink of life, the very elixir of a civilization. Thousands of years ago, for the faithful, it was an oblation to their gods. Indeed, Soma was the basis of life, a measure against which the power of a state would be judged. The ancient city of Harappa which flourished as a highly refined urban conglomerate in the Indus Valley, had been defined by the magical effervescence of Soma. The city’s sense of organization, mastery of technology, economic well-being, and above all its possession of Soma, inevitably brought the enemy troops to its door. For the drought-stricken, impoverished neighbours, Harappa was the land of fulfilment. And its rich stock of Soma an immediate provocation for pillage and invasion. Upaas, a young doctor working in the city hospital, recounts the moments of the Harappa life – mellow evenings of the young lovers’ rendezvous, arrival of trader caravans from far-away lands, malevolent godmen in subversive acts and the ultimate war over Soma. A gripping story of power politics, Harappa: the Lure of Soma gives the reader a tour of a world which has always fascinated us from across millennia but never been fully comprehended.

The book was launched in Delhi in November 2013. Available online on http://www.amazon.com

The Fall of Shurppak

Trading links between Indus Valley and ancient Sumer has been well established. This book deals with the links and the role of people from Indua valley - also called Meluhhans - colonising villages of Sumer.

Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest written texts found so far. It deals with the age old good versus bad and man versus the Gods. Gilgamesh, the sumerian emperor of Ur goes in search of immortality to the sage Ziusudra when he loses his friend Enkidu, and gets into all sorts of trouble. The Sumerian texts talk about the ship he used to cross the Apsu which is uncannily similar to the Harappan vessel. Or was it a Harappan ship and the Meluhhans who helped Gilgamesh in his epic journey.

Our friends are caught up in the conflagration that burnt down the scribe city of Shuruppak and the great floods that drowned the cities of Shuruppak and Ur around 2600 BCE

This book is due for release in Summer of 2014.

The Battle of Ten Kings

Many people now consider that the Battle of Ten Kings should be considered the third epic of India along with the eminent Mahabharatha and Ramayana. The battle is described in the 7th book of Rigveda, the first of the great vedic corpus. It is now believed to be composed around third millennium BCE and ties in quite nicely with the lives and exploits of the Harrappans or the Meluhhans as they are called.

Sudas, the king of Bharata is attacked by a confederacy of ten kings led by the Puru King Shimyu. The battle takes place on the banks of river Parushni (present day Ravi in Pakistan). Sudas fights a huge battle against overwhelming odds with the help of none other than one of the vedic Gods, Indra. Eventhough he is outnumbered massively, the battle goes his way maiinly because of the flooding of the river which drowns a large number of soldiers of the confederacy. It is a battle of good over evil.

Due for release in 2015.

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