
Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent
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Narrated by:
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Vikrant Chaturvedi
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By:
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Pranay Lal
About this listen
The first definitive natural history of the Indian subcontinent.
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 percent of global carbon and that 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 that 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 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.
©2016 Pranay Lal (P)2019 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent
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- Randy
- 08-04-24
Fascinating telling of the story of the earth and it's people.
This book covers a lot and gives a good overview of how the earth came to be, how life originated, how man evolved and spread about this planet.
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- Dr. Krishnendu Ray
- 06-14-23
Excellent!
Introduced me to the deep pre-history of South Asia from rock formations billions of years ago to our homo eructus ancestors
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