The wonder that was India

The thought of a visit to a book shop makes me happy. It is as if, I love being surrounded by books, browsing through different titles, different section, checking out new authors, all being more fun than reading a book. Sometimes, browsing the cover pages of many books, gives an immense satisfaction of really gaining some knowledge, rather than reading one whole book (novels excluded).
With the same intention, I was there at landmark at Spencer's. I directly went to the special and new books section. Most of them were Sujatha's books. Though Sujatha is not with us, his words will remain for a long time. அவரை பற்றி எழுதுவது என்றால் தமிழில் தான் எழுதியாக வேண்டும். தமிழில் புதிய எழுத்தாளர்கள் வருவதற்கு, அவர் ஒரு முக்கிய காரணம். தமிழ்நாட்டிற்கும், இந்திய வோட்டிற்க்கும், அவர் செய்த பணி என்றும் மறக்க முடியாத ஒன்று.
Then, I moved on to other sections. As i was browsing, a name caught my attention. The book's title read "The wonder that was India". Curious to read what it meant, i pulled the book from the shelf. This was a History book, written by A.L.Basham. The title struck to me as an odd one. Why is the author saying "The wonder that was India". India has been a wonder, and it still is a wonder, and it will be one always. So just to know how the author justifies the title, i bought the book. Its a big book with around 500 pages, almost resembleing an old time dictionary. As i started reading, the title was justified in the "foreward" section itself (I could have read that in the shop itself, and kept the book back).
It seems, the author was totally against this title, because he too felt that it was not relevant. But the publishers said that this book was a sequel to other books on ancient civilizations like "The grandeur that was Rome", "The splendeur that was Egypt", and even this book should have a similar title. And so, India is no more a wonder according to the title.
I am currently reading this book (Completed almost 200 pages). I think my history teacher would have been very proud and happy, if she came to know that i am reading this book. Just like a typical history book, its taking a lot of time for me to move ahead. I completed 3 other books in the meantime, but this one is still going on.
But it is not as boring as a history book. The author has tried to present many interesting facts about the lifestyles of ancient civilisations. Be it the public political, economical details or the private life of a man and woman, the author has tried to throw light on whatever is known about those days.
A good read for people with a lot of patience and time.