Indeed, these tangential considerations, ranging from DNA analysis to mad Welsh spies, often include some fascinating facts encouraging further study. As Sanyal points out, history affects geography and vice versa, so seemingly irrelevant digressions on the Mughals’ predilection for lion hunting are not entirely inappropriate here. However, for many readers this will not be an entirely bad thing. Instead we are given some general descriptions of only some of these geographical elements instead discussions of the river Saraswati or the city of Delhi, for example, are interspersed with travelogue, history, political commentary, and the like. Given the size and geographic variability of India, one might expect a book rich with scientific and historical data encompassing jungles, forests, deserts, mountain ranges, rivers, oceans, rocks, rains, winds, ecosystems, wildlife, agriculture, human communities, and all the myriad ways in which these interact and affect each other. Ostensibly it is about India’s geography, but the amount of material pertaining to this subject is rather small. Land of the Seven Rivers- A Brief History of India’s Geography, by Sanjeev Sanyalĭespite the title, it is somewhat problematic classifying this book.
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