‘100 Great Chronicles of Indian History’: Book gives a peek into India’s glorious past

From cave paintings to the Constitution, a new book, ”100 Great Chronicles of Indian History”, offer rare glimpses and insights into events that shaped the course of India’s kaleidoscopic journey, uncovering little-known details, colourful stories and a collage of cultures.

The book, released on Tuesday, is written by author Gayathri Ponvannan and published by Hachette India.

”It took almost two years, and much support from the editors at Hachette, to put together a diverse range of chronicles – from pre-Harappan seals, Vedic hymns, Gupta age texts, Chola naval records, temple inscriptions, Mughal paintings, British India telegrams, right down to radio broadcasts from the 1971 war, and messages from the Mars mission. ”We hope these serve as an introduction to the colourful history of India, and encourage readers to learn more about the people and events that make up our past,” Ponvannan told PTI.

Showing how history had been recorded in India through the ages, the book takes help of 100 amazing documents — from stone inscriptions, palm-leaf, papyrus manuscripts and clay tablets to patents, letters, maps and much more — to set-off readers on an ”extraordinary tour of India’s fascinating past”.

According to the publishers, ”deeply researched, engagingly written and thoroughly engrossing”, ‘100 Great Chronicles of Indian History’ is one history book readers will not want to put down.

”Dip into an adventurer’s diary to find out what it was like to spend a day at the Mughal court. Refer to a centuries-old guidebook for stage performance tips. Marvel at the exquisite illustrations adorning the pages of a conqueror’s scrapbook,” wrote the publishers in its description of the book.

Ponvannan previously authored books include ”Unstoppable” and ”501 Facts Factory: Amazing Space Mysteries and Marvels” — both published by Hachette India.