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Harappa: Lure of Soma
Myth is the smoke of history and as the years pass the smoke, which has hung for millennia over the Indus Valley civilisation is clearing. Trowel and brush investigation in the 1920s by Mortimer Wheeler and now scientific research, which relies on aerial photography and computer modelling, has confirmed that an early urban civilisation appeared in that area slightly before the Sumerian and Egyptian ones appeared. Teams of scholars from every continent have confirmed that the Indus, and its daughter and cousin rivers, for about 1,400 years supported extensive urban settlements, which then disappeared, lost under inundations of mud and dust. In these river valleys, in terrains of clay and water under a relentless sun and cloud-free starry skies. Mathematics, town planning, pharmaceuticals and philosophy flourished and then disappeared almost without trace.Papers on archaeological investigation are appearing but in Harappa, Shankar Kashyap provides a different service. Instead of asking us to piece together a complicated scientific narrative about what lies on, or just under, the earth he does what a Vedic bard would have done he tells a story, which has the features of a rip roaring Bollywood film.His hero, predictably because Shankar Kashyap is a surgeon, is Upaas, a trainee doctor. Upaas describes municipal government, pupilship with a yogi, exploding arrows, kingship, an attempt to re-route rivers with thought, a battle in a hidden ravine as a watching eagle hovers overhead, international trade and horsemanship. There is a doe eyed maiden who flirts in shallow water using her toes and a villain who seems to lack the virtue of rising early without complaint.This novel is well grounded in 5000 years of Hindu literature but it has a modern slant. Today floods threaten, traders quarrel, religious niceties cause children to starve and wail, drone planes bomb weddings and an interrogatory Eagle hovers watching.
363 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 26, 2017
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January 5, 2018
Book Review by LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: ‘The Harappa Trilogy : Lure of Soma, Fall of Shuruppak & Battle of Ten Kings’ by Dr. Shankar N Kashyap (10th Review)
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the trilogy.**
‘Harappa trilogy’ is a wonderful gift from respected author Dr. Shankar Kashyap to his readers. The trilogy comprises of three books titled ‘The Lure of Soma’, ‘The Fall of Shuruppak’ and ‘Battle of Ten Kings’. The story that starts in ‘The lure of Soma’ goes to the next level in the book ‘The Fall of Shuruppak’ and finally comes to a logical closure in the final book ‘Battle of ten kings’.
The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist Upashantha. It’s, in essence, is the journey of Upashantha in search of the unknown driven by the thirst of knowledge. He is joined by his dear wife Lopa and other companions in due course of the exploration.
Firstly, many authors in the recent past have explored the idea of working on non-canonical adaptation of Hindu mythology and Vedic literature. However, what sets this trilogy apart from the rest of the available works is the fact that it explores a less explored and hardly talked episode from the Hindu mythology.
Secondly, the trilogy quite truly opens up a new avenue altogether for its readers and future authors. The second notable point about the trilogy is how the dots had been connected across the three different books.
Thirdly, right from the revised cover designing to end sale packaging, the trilogy does a fairly good job. The only point which could have made a better reading experience is having all the three books in the form of a single package, may be in the form of a box rather than marketed as three independent books. Unless readers are told that they form a trilogy, people might miss to notice it in first glance.
To summarize, this trilogy can be a perfect gift to you for the New Year if you are in the mood of taking a deep dive in the realms of Indian history and mythology.
Overall, Literoma rates the Harappa Trilogy as 4.7*/5* and recommends readers to read the entire series with enough time in hand. It's our privilege to review such works of classy literature which is becoming rare day by day. We eagerly really await to read more of the author's work in future.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the trilogy.**
‘Harappa trilogy’ is a wonderful gift from respected author Dr. Shankar Kashyap to his readers. The trilogy comprises of three books titled ‘The Lure of Soma’, ‘The Fall of Shuruppak’ and ‘Battle of Ten Kings’. The story that starts in ‘The lure of Soma’ goes to the next level in the book ‘The Fall of Shuruppak’ and finally comes to a logical closure in the final book ‘Battle of ten kings’.
The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist Upashantha. It’s, in essence, is the journey of Upashantha in search of the unknown driven by the thirst of knowledge. He is joined by his dear wife Lopa and other companions in due course of the exploration.
Firstly, many authors in the recent past have explored the idea of working on non-canonical adaptation of Hindu mythology and Vedic literature. However, what sets this trilogy apart from the rest of the available works is the fact that it explores a less explored and hardly talked episode from the Hindu mythology.
Secondly, the trilogy quite truly opens up a new avenue altogether for its readers and future authors. The second notable point about the trilogy is how the dots had been connected across the three different books.
Thirdly, right from the revised cover designing to end sale packaging, the trilogy does a fairly good job. The only point which could have made a better reading experience is having all the three books in the form of a single package, may be in the form of a box rather than marketed as three independent books. Unless readers are told that they form a trilogy, people might miss to notice it in first glance.
To summarize, this trilogy can be a perfect gift to you for the New Year if you are in the mood of taking a deep dive in the realms of Indian history and mythology.
Overall, Literoma rates the Harappa Trilogy as 4.7*/5* and recommends readers to read the entire series with enough time in hand. It's our privilege to review such works of classy literature which is becoming rare day by day. We eagerly really await to read more of the author's work in future.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
December 18, 2017
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 Shankar Kashyap
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
| 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 Shankar Kashyap
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
October 10, 2017
A fascinating glimpse into the Harappan Civilization.
The author’s vast knowledge of Hindu history and literature makes this enthralling novel set in the third millennium BCE fascinating reading. Indeed although a work of fiction, the story is based around real life characters and events which took place in the Near East, and Middle East at that time.
The Harappan (or Indus Valley) Civilization was the biggest empire of the time. Its lands stretched from the river Indus and Hindu Kush Mountains in the west, to the Ganges Yamuna doab in the east, the Himalayas in the north and the Arabian Sea in the south.
The story is told by the main character Upashantha (Upaas), who is a trainee physician and the son of Angirasa, the chief architect who designed the beautiful city of Harappa, known as the City of Gold.
Through Upaas’s eyes, and the author’s wonderfully descriptive writing, we find ourselves transported back through time to this golden era in Harappan history.
The Harappans live well, are prosperous, safe, protected, and welcome visitors and merchants keen to trade with them. However, for others life is not so fortunate, in Ariana the nine rivers have dried up, the people are suffering, and the crops are failing. Matriya, has had to watch his family and those around him struggle and is angry, and so after failing to persuade the Elders of Sistan to use their magical powers to change the course of the river Sindu (Indus), a resentful and unhappy Matriya decides to take fate into his own hands.
Eventually, after much studying under a yogi who knows how to control nature, Matriya learns the necessary powers himself, however, although he wants to move the course of the mighty Sindu river so his people’s lands are fertile again, he also has an ulterior motive, he is doing it for selfish reasons, he seeks glory for himself.
As this story unfolds Upaas finds himself called upon to help the Elders of the Council and Sages of Harappa, and is sent down perilous paths to save the City of Gold from war, and the spell of the rogue Magus.
I was fascinated by the magical Soma plant which was revered as a God by the Harappan civilization, and grown in a secret location known only to a few. Its magical powers are as vital to the Magus, and the Harappa people in this story, as they were at the time.
This is a great action packed adventure which is laced with magic and sorcery, and am looking forward to reading the second in this trilogy, Harappa 2: Fall of Shuruppak.
The author’s vast knowledge of Hindu history and literature makes this enthralling novel set in the third millennium BCE fascinating reading. Indeed although a work of fiction, the story is based around real life characters and events which took place in the Near East, and Middle East at that time.
The Harappan (or Indus Valley) Civilization was the biggest empire of the time. Its lands stretched from the river Indus and Hindu Kush Mountains in the west, to the Ganges Yamuna doab in the east, the Himalayas in the north and the Arabian Sea in the south.
The story is told by the main character Upashantha (Upaas), who is a trainee physician and the son of Angirasa, the chief architect who designed the beautiful city of Harappa, known as the City of Gold.
Through Upaas’s eyes, and the author’s wonderfully descriptive writing, we find ourselves transported back through time to this golden era in Harappan history.
The Harappans live well, are prosperous, safe, protected, and welcome visitors and merchants keen to trade with them. However, for others life is not so fortunate, in Ariana the nine rivers have dried up, the people are suffering, and the crops are failing. Matriya, has had to watch his family and those around him struggle and is angry, and so after failing to persuade the Elders of Sistan to use their magical powers to change the course of the river Sindu (Indus), a resentful and unhappy Matriya decides to take fate into his own hands.
Eventually, after much studying under a yogi who knows how to control nature, Matriya learns the necessary powers himself, however, although he wants to move the course of the mighty Sindu river so his people’s lands are fertile again, he also has an ulterior motive, he is doing it for selfish reasons, he seeks glory for himself.
As this story unfolds Upaas finds himself called upon to help the Elders of the Council and Sages of Harappa, and is sent down perilous paths to save the City of Gold from war, and the spell of the rogue Magus.
I was fascinated by the magical Soma plant which was revered as a God by the Harappan civilization, and grown in a secret location known only to a few. Its magical powers are as vital to the Magus, and the Harappa people in this story, as they were at the time.
This is a great action packed adventure which is laced with magic and sorcery, and am looking forward to reading the second in this trilogy, Harappa 2: Fall of Shuruppak.
December 30, 2017
Book Review by LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: ‘Harappa - 1: Lure of Soma’ by Dr. Shankar N Kashyap (7th Review)
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the book. **
‘The Lure of Soma’ is the first of the Harappa trilogy written by veteran surgeon Dr. Shankar N Kashyap. In this book Dr. Kashyap guides us through the ageold Harappan culture with minute details as much as authentic character namings, their contemporary social construct, mindset, usual happenings, expectations and so on. As a reader, you will never feel that you have not experienced Harappan society in real world.
Over the last few years this genre of writing has gained immense momentum and quite a few attempts have been made by handful of authors and filmm akers. However, only few of them could live up to the expectation of the readers. Dr. Kashyap's book somehow relates closely to a recently released title 'Harappa - Curse of the Blood River' by Mr. Vineet Bajpai. However, their distinct storylines define the respective courses. However, it points towards increasing focus on the topic for sure.
Dr. Kashyap's wonderful creations will be one of those books which will be accepted by both the run on the mill kind of a reader as well as the more serious reading group who look forward to take something from the reading they do.
All the characters depicted in the book are quite flawless and consistent. Also, the respected author made sure the history is not disturbed while attempting this non-canonical version. Nevertheless to mention, his style of narration is undoubtedly very gripping and interesting.
Overall, Literoma rates this book as 4.7*/5* - it is one of those books which can grab a reader's attention till the very end of the story.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the book. **
‘The Lure of Soma’ is the first of the Harappa trilogy written by veteran surgeon Dr. Shankar N Kashyap. In this book Dr. Kashyap guides us through the ageold Harappan culture with minute details as much as authentic character namings, their contemporary social construct, mindset, usual happenings, expectations and so on. As a reader, you will never feel that you have not experienced Harappan society in real world.
Over the last few years this genre of writing has gained immense momentum and quite a few attempts have been made by handful of authors and filmm akers. However, only few of them could live up to the expectation of the readers. Dr. Kashyap's book somehow relates closely to a recently released title 'Harappa - Curse of the Blood River' by Mr. Vineet Bajpai. However, their distinct storylines define the respective courses. However, it points towards increasing focus on the topic for sure.
Dr. Kashyap's wonderful creations will be one of those books which will be accepted by both the run on the mill kind of a reader as well as the more serious reading group who look forward to take something from the reading they do.
All the characters depicted in the book are quite flawless and consistent. Also, the respected author made sure the history is not disturbed while attempting this non-canonical version. Nevertheless to mention, his style of narration is undoubtedly very gripping and interesting.
Overall, Literoma rates this book as 4.7*/5* - it is one of those books which can grab a reader's attention till the very end of the story.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
December 28, 2017
Book Review by LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: ‘Harappa - 1: Lure of Soma’ by Dr. Shankar N Kashyap (5th Review)
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the book. **
‘The lure of Soma’ is the first of the Harappa trilogy written by veteran author Shankar Kashyap. It’s based on the history of ancient Indus Valley Civilization. However, the characters built and the events described are based on author’s imagination. All throughout the book, the work of imagination gets boosted by the author’s vast knowledge of history and literature surrounding the Vedic ages and ancient inhabitations at the Indus belt. That exclusive knowledge makes the novel look really authentic. Attempting a topic like this is a challenging choice in itself and Mr. Kashyap had pulled it off brilliantly.
What sets the book apart from other books of the same genre is the amount of detailing in terms of description, characterization and scene setting. The description part makes this book a must read for both the history lovers and literature lovers. The book really reconstructs the civilization of Harappa perfectly and makes the readers feel for the characters. The protagonist Upashantha seems authentic and his account takes the reader through a roller coaster ride of emotions unlike the central character depicted in a recent Bollywood release on its twin civilization (name purposely witheld).
Overall, Literoma rates this book as 4.6*/5*. This is one of those books which sets the tone beautifully for the next two books of the trilogy. We are sure the readers will start looking for the sequel immediately after completing this book.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the book. **
‘The lure of Soma’ is the first of the Harappa trilogy written by veteran author Shankar Kashyap. It’s based on the history of ancient Indus Valley Civilization. However, the characters built and the events described are based on author’s imagination. All throughout the book, the work of imagination gets boosted by the author’s vast knowledge of history and literature surrounding the Vedic ages and ancient inhabitations at the Indus belt. That exclusive knowledge makes the novel look really authentic. Attempting a topic like this is a challenging choice in itself and Mr. Kashyap had pulled it off brilliantly.
What sets the book apart from other books of the same genre is the amount of detailing in terms of description, characterization and scene setting. The description part makes this book a must read for both the history lovers and literature lovers. The book really reconstructs the civilization of Harappa perfectly and makes the readers feel for the characters. The protagonist Upashantha seems authentic and his account takes the reader through a roller coaster ride of emotions unlike the central character depicted in a recent Bollywood release on its twin civilization (name purposely witheld).
Overall, Literoma rates this book as 4.6*/5*. This is one of those books which sets the tone beautifully for the next two books of the trilogy. We are sure the readers will start looking for the sequel immediately after completing this book.
All the Literoma reviews are available at our page:-
https://literomapublishingservices.bl...
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