UK book launch: Author explores the forgotten civilization of Harappa
One of the most mysterious cultures of the ancient world dating back as far as 2600 BC has been brought back to life with a newly-released novel.
Bradford-based arts organisation Kala Sangam, in partnership with ArtsConnect, invited author Dr Shankar Kashyap on 4 April to launch his book ‘Harappa: The Lure Of Soma’.
Dr Kashyap – an orthopaedic surgeon from Newcastle – was accompanied by poet and critic Brian Lewis, as he spoke about his new book, which is set in the pre-historian times of the Indus civilization.
The first of six, the book focuses on the early Indus Valley civilization named the Harappa, whose existence has been confirmed by scientific investigations, aerial photography and computer modelling, within the last century.
Dr Kashyap told the Yorkshire Standard: “This has been a journey of learning for me as I went through exhaustive research into depths of archaeological finds and realms of Rigvedic literature from the enormous Vedic corpus of India.
“I have tried to bring the characters of ancient scriptures alive in the Harappan cities.”
‘Harappa: The Lure Of Soma’, is grounded in 5,000 years of Hindu literature but has a modern slant with features of a rip-roaring Bollywood film.
It tells the tale of a trainee doctor named Upaas who describes municipal government, life being a pupil of a yogi, exploding arrows, and a battle that takes place in a hidden ravine as a watching eagle flies overhead.
Dr Kashyap has a deep interest in the ancient history of India and is an avid researcher.
The research he conducted even surprised him at times, as he said: “The most surprising thing I found was the size of the Harappan civilization and the fact that the people living there did things that we have only discovered in more recent times.”
At the Golden Age of the Harappan civilization, major cities had populations of over 20,000 people and inhabitants lived in well-organised settlements.
According to research, they had highly-advanced skills in engineering, mathematics and astronomy.
Dr Kashyap plans to release the second book in July.
