Monday, March 29, 2010

A must read book on Indian civilization

Archaeology in India has been one of the most argued subjects among the academics. It has been influenced by ideological bias, scanty research into primary sources and most important of all the lack of interest on the part of the government to support, sponsor and spread the information on the deep roots of our history and civilization. Hence, the book by one of the most renowned archaeologists B.B. Lal on the Indian civilization has come as a fresh breath. Lal, an academic of international repute and author of several acclaimed books has written How Deep are the Roots of Indian Civilization? Archaeology Answers. Adopting narrative style, he has minimised the academic lingo and made it easy for a common reader to sail with the content.

Right at the outset, the book connects today’s reader with our forefathers thousands of years ago, by pointing out the similarities in rituals and daily practices. The tradition of applying sindoor in the centre parting on the forehead by married women has been observed in the terracotta figurines that have been carbon dated to be circa 2800-2600 BCE (Before Common Era), even before what is known as Harappan civilization. Bangles and the ‘chauk’ on the forehead were also in vogue then, as they are now. Utensils similar to the ones in common use now in our kitchens have also been excavated from the Harappan region. The tradition of bead craft in Gujarat region too dates back to thousands of years.


Full report here Organiser.org

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