At the zenith of its power and prosperity, Harappa is a highly refined urban conglomerate in the Indus Valley, visited by trade caravans and travelers from faraway lands. The city’s sense of organisation, its mastery of technology, economic well being, and above all, its possession of Soma, inevitably bring enemy troops to its door. For the drought-stricken, impoverished neighbors, Harappa is the land of fulfillment. Indeed, Soma is the basis of life, a measure against which the power of a state could be judged.
Upaas, a young doctor working in the city hospital, recounts Harappa’s sudden plunge into the frenzy of war. The mellow evenings of the young lover’s rendezvous, soulful music floating out of the travelers’ camps and the deep resonance of the temple bells – this picture of bliss comes under the shadow of cancer with the arrival of a malevolent godman on the scene. Secret gatherings and sinister designs set the stage for a bloody, meaningless war. Power rivalry and territorial ambition were as much the undoing of a prosperous region at the dawn of civilization as today.
OCLC