‘Like the Druzes, like the moon, like death, like next week, the distant past is one of those things that can enrich ignorance. It is infinitely malleable and agreeable, far more obliging than the future and far less demanding of our efforts. It is the famous season favoured by all mythologies.’ –Jorge Luis Borges (I, a Jew)
Devdutt Pattanaik, known for his delightful retellings of the Mahabharata, Ramayana and myriad other stories, periodically wanders into history. 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization: Ahimsa, also illustrated by Pattanaik, intended for the ‘general public’, is a collection of a large number of sketches mostly inspired by Harappan seals and sealings followed by explanations so that ‘facts’ and ‘interpretation’ are seamlessly merged. Organized in bullet points, the book covers a variety of themes including the unverified idea that the Harappans were primarily traders, ‘probably regulated by monks who valorised restraint… chose stories rather than violence to get people to collaborate’. He also covers issues like resource mobilization to understand the economic structure of the civilization. We learn how lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone, was processed in Shortugai, a Harappan settlement close to the river Oxus in Afghanistan, then transported to coastal towns like Lothal and Sutkagan-dor, and thence to the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Long-distance trade brought together diverse worlds that differed in language, culture and political structure.
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