Indica: A
Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent by Pranay Lal
Few places have been as influential as the Indian subcontinent in shaping the
course of life on Earth. Yet its evolution has remained largely
unchronicled. Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent
fills this gap. From the oldest rocks, formed three billion years ago
in Karnataka, to the arrival of our ancesters 50,000 years ago on the
banks of the Indus, the author meticulously sifts through wide-ranging
scientific disciplines and through the layers of earth to tell us the
story of India, filled with a variety of fierce reptiles, fantastic
dinosaurs, gargantuan mammals and amazing plants. Beautifully produced
in full colour, with a rare collection of images, illustrations and
maps, Indica is full of fascinating, lesser-known facts. It shows us
how every piece of rock and inch of soil is a virtual museum, and how,
over billions of years, millions of spectacular creatures have
reproduced, walked and lived over and under it.
Did
you know that the exquisite caves of Ellora were hewn from rock formed
in the greatest lava floods the world has known—eruptions so enormous
that they may well have obliterated dinosaurs? Or that Bengaluru owes
its unique climate to a tectonic event that took place 88 million years
ago? That the Ganga and Brahmaputra sequester nearly 20 per cent of
global carbon, and their sediments over millions of years have etched
submarine canyons in the Bay of Bengal that are larger than the Grand
Canyon? Ever heard of Rajasaurus, an Indian dinosaur which was perhaps
more ferocious than T rex? Many such amazing facts and discoveries—from
70-million-year-old crocodile eggs in Mumbai to the nesting ground of
dinosaurs near Ahmedabad—are a part of Indica: A Deep Natural History
of the Indian Subcontinent. Researching across wide-ranging
scientific disciplines and travelling with scientists all over the
country, biochemist Pranay Lal has woven together the first compelling
narrative of India’s deep natural history, filled with fierce reptiles,
fantastic dinosaurs, gargantuan mammals and amazing plants. This story,
which includes a rare collection of images, illustrations and maps,
starts at the very beginning—from the time when a galactic swirl of
dust coalesced to become our life-giving planet—and ends with the
arrival of our ancestors on the banks of the Indus. Pranay Lal tells
this story with verve, lucidity and an infectious enthusiasm that comes
from his deep, abiding love of nature.
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Below are two pages from the book flyer, full flyer can be downloaded
here (PDF
file of 10 pages, 0.9Mb)