BOOK REVIEW OF HARAPPA 1 – Lure of Soma
| Thanks to Literoma Publishing Services for gifting me a review copy of the book. |
By Shankar Kashyap
· Paperback
· Publisher: INDUS PUBLISHING GROUP (2017)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 8193171454
· ISBN-13: 978-8193171455
· Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 1.6 x 22.9 cm
BOOK REVIEW-
Indus Valley Civilization (also called IVC) was the Bronze Age Civilization which existed between 3300-1300BCE while it enjoyed the mature period between 2600-1900BCE. The Pre-Harappan cultures started before 7500 BCE and existed mainly in the northwest Indian Subcontinent, which makes Pakistan and Northwest India of today. This civilization also consists of some regions of Northeast Afghanistan. With Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it is considered one of the three early civilizations of Old World and was most widespread. In total, this civilization covered an area of 1.25 million Km2.This Civilization nourished at basins of Indus River, which is one of the major rivers of Asia. It’s better known as the Dried up Sarasvati River today but once it use to course through Northwest India and Easter Pakistan with its tributaries flowed along the channel and being identified as Ghaggar Hakra River by some scientific studies. Because this Civilization was along both river valleys, it is often described as Indus-Sarasvati Civilization. At its peat, the civilization had more than 5 million population. The residents of this ancient civilization came with new techniques for handcraft and metallurgy. The Engineering skills of Harappans were way ahead of their time. This is proved by the Town Planning of Harappan Civilization.
The author from Upashantha perspective proves a very beautiful fact that Fiction is written with reality and reality is written with fiction. We can write fiction because there is reality and we can write reality because there is fiction; everything we consider today to be myth and legend, our ancestors believed to be history and everything in our history includes myths and legends. Before the splendid modern-day mind was formed our cultures and civilizations were conceived in the wombs of, and born of, what we identify today as “fiction, unreality, myth, legend, fantasy, folklore, imaginations, fabrications and tall tales.” And in our suddenly realized glory of all our modern-day “advancements” we somehow fail to ask ourselves the question “Who designated myths and legends as unreality? ” But I ask myself this question because who decided that he was spectacular enough to stand up and say to our ancestors “You were all stupid and disillusioned and imagining things” and then why did we all decide to believe this person? There are many realities not just one. There is a truth that goes far beyond what we are told today to believe in. And we find that truth when we are brave enough to break away from what keeps everybody else feeling comfortable. Your reality is what you believe in. And nobody should be able to tell you to believe otherwise.
I also loved the idea of faith that was illustrated through the pages of the book, as if Faith is a beautiful thing. When you believe in an image; an ideal; a supreme being or figure and you stand in the sunshine and you feel the warmth as it spreads through your body. And with that warmth comes a smile and a knowing that you were right to believe in the first place.
That is what having faith is. It’s regardless of which religion you belong to, because faith is universal. That is why it is magical and the sooner we put away our differences and start to believe in each other than that is when we truly start to use faith as it was intended to be used.
And finally something which struck me was the idea of magic. Correlating it to the present day, I feel Humanity does not suffer from the disease of wrong beliefs but humanity suffers from the contagious nature of the lack of belief. If you have no magic with you it is not because magic does not exist but it is because you do not believe in it. Even if the sun shines brightly upon your skin every day, if you do not believe in the sunlight, the sunlight for you does not exist.
The book was s very innovative attempt from the author.
Kudos to
RATINGS-
Overall I would like to rate the book 43 on a scale of 50.
4 stars out of 5
1. Originality of the plot and sub pots- 9/10
2. Net emotions in the story- 8.5/10
3. Usage of words and phrases-8.5/10
4. The title, cover and the illustration-9/10
5. The net impact on the readers- 8/10
REVIEWED BY-
SAYAN BASAK
KOLKATA
