The Journey of Survivors
70,000-Year History of Indian Sub-Continent
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The first character is that of Yama (or Yam Raj), the god of death. According to Hindu mythology, Yama and his sister Yami were the first persons on earth. Yami wanted to have a child with Yama, which the latter refused. Yama died without having a child. As per Vedic faith, a childless person is trapped in the land of dead forever. Yama, the great king, was the first mortal to die. Being the first, he got the role of evaluating the life of those to follow. He then became a god, the guardian of the south, and the guide of the dead souls. He, it is believed, is the one who decides our fate after our death. The ‘good’ are rewarded and the ‘bad’ punished. ‘Good’ are the ones who follow dharma (duty), which is the Vedic way of life. The ‘bad’ are the ones who disobey. We need rules that define ‘good’ to maintain order in the society and to maintain the social order. The order puts the Brahmins (priests) on the top of the chain, followed by the Kshatriya (warriors), with weakest at the bottom. Without rules, the weak will protest. Without rules, there will be revolt and chaos. Without rules, there will be no civilization. But first, some sacrifices were required to build a civilization.....
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About the Book
‘Journey of Survivors’ is one book that sums up the entire 70,000-year journey of India and her people. The book contains not just history, but also some interesting legends like how the Asuras were once our god, the legendary kingdom of women in the Himalayas, Alexander’s search for ‘somras’, the bloody coins of Jesus that made its way into India and how Genghis Khan helped cool the earth. It discusses interesting facts like Chanakya’s cunning policies, science in ancient India, the myth of Indians never attacking foreign lands, the Indian Greeks, how Buddhism died in India, how few Indian officials sailed across the Bay of Bengal in search of a king, the woman who defeated Ghori, the mysterious distribution of rotis before the revolt of 1857, the letters of Indian soldiers during the world war and how the 1975-77 Emergency changed Sholay's ending. The book poses intriguing questions like what is the identity of India, did temple destruction only happen in medieval India, was Gandhi a hero and will India survive. At the end, the author tries to discuss the various issues that in his opinion India, as a nation, needs to address.
About the Author
Subhrashis Adhikari is a history enthusiast. He travels all around India, unraveling her glorious past, with his wife and little daughter as a companion. After completing his MTech from IIT Bombay, he now works as a geologist in a multinational oil and gas exploration and production company.