Book Review: Land of seven Rivers

India spawns ideas as vigorously as it spawns diverse populations. This is the impression conveyed by the Land of Seven Rivers, a book that good-naturedly examines a huge range of India related topics, from mitochondrial DNA to modernist architecture. Writer Sanjeev Sanyal certainly begins with the shifts of Tectonic Plates that over millions of years nudged the subcontinent up against the Asian Mainland, goes on to examine the evidence for the origin of India’s populations, and so proceeds to the partition of 1947 and the subsequent absorbing of French and Portuguese enclaves.

He also covers the drying up of the once Legendary Saraswati River, the writing of the Kamasutra, the extraordinary rule of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the anti-British revolt of 1857, and much more. He highlights particular locations, sometimes visiting them and reporting on their current condition. It is very easy to lose interest in a book based on facts and numbers. However, this did not happen while I was reading this book, maybe also because I took my time with this one. I had to let the history and geography of our land sink in and that helped me savor the book – page by page. This book is a fantastic attempt to talk to us simply about our heritage and of the times gone by.

It is an affiliate book that meanders, rather like the rivers it describes, through the familiar landscape of the history of the Indian sub-continent. One will pass through most of the landmarks such as the Harappans, the Vedas, Ashoka, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the various cities of Delhi, Mughals, the British and their Mapmakers, partition as well as the rise of a new India exemplified by the rapid growth of Gurgaon, a centre for the call-centre industry south of Delhi and characterized by gleaming office towers, metro stations, malls, luxury hotels and millions of jobs.  

This book is strong on unusual facts. I was astonished to read, for example, that the UK barrister, who mapped out the line of partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, in Delhi but without having time to inspect the situation on the ground, actually returned his fee of 2000 UK Pounds following the mass migration and killings that followed his work. Also of great interest is India’s estimated proportion of World GDP – a possible 33 percent in the first century AD, compared to 4 percent at Independence. The Roman Empire is estimated having 21 percent. The book positions itself very nicely between being a research based account and a leisurely stroll through Indian history.