Sam Panchamukhii

Brilliant analysis of India's history with anecdotal evidence and accounts. Changes perspectives on Ancient India and its phenomenal influence over significant parts of the world. And the most amazing part is that it happened without any conquests. William Dalrymple, unlike most left or right leaning historians, or for that matter, unlike many Western historians who have very limited understanding of India, provides a dispassionate perspective of an age that has largely faded away from public memory. Most importantly, the book puts India where it always belonged before the various conquests and colonial rules pushed its amazing contributions away into some dark corner. Till recently, this part of history has largely been ignored by a large sections of India and the rest of the world. The book, I believe, is an eye opener for several historians and so called intelligentsia. For example: the book reveals that the idea of Silk Route is quite a recent addition and we have taken it for granted all these years. I just hope this wonderful book is read by many and is converted into a documentary sometime later.