‘Land of Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India’s Geography’ is regarded as a fascinating read, the main motive of which is to acquaint the readers with the fascinating geography of the country. It is also a curious read on how several facts and stories, which make an intrinsic part of India’s history, actually came into vicinity. While explaining these, the book also questions several incidents that are thought to be a major part of India’s history, like why did Buddha choose Sarnath as the site for his first sermon and how did the Europeans exactly map our country. The brilliance of the book lies in the fact that it tries to answer many questions from Indian History from the point of view of the country’s geography, by studying its various ancient cities, rivers, mountains and hills. An avid traveller, Sanyal has travelled to numerous archaeological sites, crossed numerous rivers and gained an in-depth knowledge by reading the ancient manuscripts, all with the aim to help the readers gain good hold about the geography of India.
