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1. The land of Saptasindhavah (सप्तसिन्धवः) Since the dawn of civilization, the mighty Himalayas have always protected the people living in Indian sub-continent, not only from natural phenomena like sandstorms originating on central Asia plains or blistering arctic cold winds or great floodwaters sweeping the north Indian plains,  that could have created existential problems for the early settlers. The unscalable peaks and ranges of world’s tallest mountain also prevented the barbaric wild Asian steppe hordes, attacking and destroying the inhabitations, including cities and towns of subcontinent, the way they did in China and east Europe. Yet, in spite of this guardian angel, protecting our borders, wild hordes of invaders and intruders, cruel and murderous tribesmen, monarchs, brave warriors with monarchy aspirations and people who themselves were pushed out from their country, found routes that circumambulated  the vast mountain ranges and enter the sub-continent over last two millennia. These intruders and their barbaric armies, created a profound impact on the culture of the sub-continent that had evolved over last five or more millennia, starting from Sindhu-Sarswati Civilization, the Vedic era, Buddhist ideas and finally the Sanatan Dharma. Some of the early intruders adopted to native religions, but some imposed their own religious doctrines, creating a great divisive force that continues to torment the sub-continent, even today.   It so happens that the most profound impact of the intruders took place in a geographical area of the subcontinent, where Sindhu-Sarswati civilization once flourished five or more millennia ago. This land could be rightly called as the heart or core of the sub-continent culture. This region, in the northwest corner of the sub-continent, is none other than the land of seven rivers or Saptasindhavah (सप्तसिन्धवः) of the Vedas.   In the oldest Veda or Rigveda, the sage Angirasa, while offering oblation to Sun God ‘Savita” describes him as, अ॒ष्टौ व्य॑ख्यत्क॒कुभः॑ पृथि॒व्यास्त्री धन्व॒ योज॑ना स॒प्त सिन्धू॑न् । हि॒र॒ण्या॒क्षः स॑वि॒ता दे॒व आगा॒द्दध॒द्रत्ना॑ दा॒शुषे॒ वार्या॑णि ॥ (1.35.8) “He has lighted up the eight points of the horizon, the three regions of living beings, the seven rivers; may the golden-eyes Savitā come hither, bestowing upon the offerer of the oblation desirable riches.” The next question that naturally arises is the names of rivers that constitute this land of seven rivers.  Luckily Rigveda helps us even here. The Nadistuti sukta (नदिस्तुति सूक्त), or “the hymn in praise of rivers”, gives us names of these seven rivers for the reconstruction of the geography of this area. The first and foremost river that this Sukta (10.75.1) mentions is obviously Sindhu or The Indus, the mightiest of them all. Other rivers that are mentioned (10.75.5) in east to west direction are Sarasvati, Shutudri (Sutlej), Parushni (Iravati, Ravi), Asikni (Chenab) and finally Vitasta (Jhelum). This defines the land of seven rivers as the region that begins with Sarswati in the east, but does not end with Indus in the west.   The next verse (10.75.6) describes the tributaries like Kubha (Kabul River), Gomati (Gomal) and  Krumu (Kurram),that merge with Sindhu in the plains.  Using this information, we can create a map of the landmass, which Rigveda describes as ‘Saptasindhav’. We must also include here the plains, west of Indus River that stretch to the mountains and also the Basin of no longer visible  Sarswati River, now found only through archaeological and satellite data. However, we shall not indulge in that endeavor as it is unrelated to our subject matter.   Figure 1.1 shows the exact locations of these rivers except River Sarswati. By Dbach...

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The old order changeth

The old order changeth

Across the road from my house, stood a two storied old house, built in 1930’s. Sometime back, the owners decided to sell off the property. Later, the new owners wanting to construct a commercial building at the spot, decided to demolish the old house. The day, the labourers started to work their sledge hammers on the old house, I must have looked at that house hundreds of times. It is true…

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Lost and Found on Mars

Lost and Found on Mars

European Space Agency (ESA) had launched a spacecraft named as “Mars Express.” on June 2, 2003, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, using a Soyuz-FG/Fregat rocket. The spacecraft was named as “express” considering the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was designed and built and also because it was expected to have the shortest interplanetary voyage, since Earth and Mars were…

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North of Northeast Part XIII

North of Northeast Part XIII

(Continuedfrom part XII) I have a quick breakfast and our car leaves on highway 37 to west, to stop almost immediately near a cluster of shops selling Kaziranga souvenirs; tee shirts, little wooden rhinos and key chains. I buy a couple of tee shirts for the kids at home and a small wooden rhino that can be painted. Our Kaziranga stay may be over, but we have yet to visit an important landmark…

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A kick in the butt

A kick in the butt

After I completed my graduation year in Engineering, I did a short training stint in an organization that was called as “Electronics and Radar Developement Establishment (LRDE). This organization was under the umbrella of “Defence Research and Development Organization,” a behemoth that has today under it, 52 laboratories, five defence PSUs, four shipyards and 39 ordnance factories. 7800…

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Endangered Forest Owlet now sighted in Madhya Pradesh Jungles too!

Endangered Forest Owlet now sighted in Madhya Pradesh Jungles too!

There is more good news about a bird specie that was considered lost by ornithologists in India. Just a month ago I had reported that in the month of October 2014, Sunil Laad, a naturalist and former employee of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) had seen a forest Owlet in the Tansa sanctuary near Mumbai. Forest owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti) is one of the rarest and least-known of India’s…

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A Yellow Taj Mahal?

A Yellow Taj Mahal?

The Taj Mahal; a monument that is considered as the world’s greatest symbol of love, was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1653 as a mausoleum for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. This beautiful Mughal era building, consisting of domes and minarets has been paneled with white marble, inlaid with semi-precious stones and carvings. It is…

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Allergies; a modern age nemesis

Allergies; a modern age nemesis

The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international umbrella organization whose members consist of 95 National Allergy Societies from around the world. They say that almost 40% of the globe’s population is genetically prone to severe allergic reactions. Coming nearer home, a comprehensive study in 2014 by a clinical laboratory brings out a grim picture for India too. They tested 20,293…

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Killing two birds with one stone

Killing two birds with one stone

India is a semi tropical country that gets plenty of sunlight. India’s landmass gets about 300 clear, sunny days every year. According to an estimate, India’s theoretical solar power reception, on only its land area, is about 5000 Petawatt-hours ( 10^15 watts x hours) per year. The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 Kilo watt hours for every square meter of land…

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North of Northeast Part XII

North of Northeast Part XII

(Continuedfrom part XI) We leave the resort very early, even before dawn, so as to reach Kaziranga park entrance in time for our Elephant safari. Kaziranga park has been divided in four different ranges; Western or Baguri range, central or Kohora range, eastern or Agoratoli range and finally the distant Burapahar range. The park has several entry points. However, we enter through a gate in…

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What's in a label?

What’s in a label?

I first visited USA in 1980’s. During my visit, I did buy a few clothes for myself and my family, because they were very cheap and of exceptional quality. I had then noticed that each and every garment had a tag or a label. That was something new, because at that time, most of the people in India used custom stitched clothes after buying a piece of cloth from a shop. These clothes naturally…

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India building deep underground laboratory to study Neutrinos

India building deep underground laboratory to study Neutrinos

We all know that all matter consists of atoms, which have a central nucleus and number of electrons. The nucleus is a cluster of two types of particles. A proton with a positive charge and a neutron, which is electrically neutral. Atoms of various elements differ from each other because they have different numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons. Each atom has a “Mass Number,” which…