Ganges, Sudipta Sen
Ganges, Sudipta Sen
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Ganges
The Many Pasts of an Indian River

Author: Sudipta Sen

Narrator: Neil Shah

Unabridged: 14 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/22/2019


Synopsis

A sweeping, interdisciplinary history of the world's third-largest river, a potent symbol across South Asia and the Hindu diaspora.

Originating in the Himalayas and flowing into the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges is India's most important and sacred river. In this unprecedented work, historian Sudipta Sen tells the story of the Ganges, from the communities that arose on its banks to the merchants that navigated its waters, and the way it came to occupy center stage in the history and culture of the subcontinent.

Sen begins his chronicle in prehistoric India, tracing the river's first settlers, its myths of origin in the Hindu tradition, and its significance during the ascendancy of popular Buddhism. In the following centuries, Indian empires, Central Asian regimes, European merchants, the British Empire, and the Indian nation-state all shaped the identity and ecology of the river. Weaving together geography, environmental politics, and religious history, Sen offers a remarkable portrait of one of the world's largest and most densely populated river basins.

About Sudipta Sen

Sudipta Sen is professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and the author of Distant Sovereignty: National Imperialism and the Origins of British India. He lives in Woodland, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Priya on August 11, 2019

I picked this book up on a whim - browsing through the new releases at the library I thought learning about the Ganges through the mythology, art, and history would be fun. Sudipta Sen pulls together a variety of sources to show how the River developed, not just geologically but through human intera......more

Goodreads review by William on March 03, 2019

Published by Yale University Press, this book has an academic tone that makes it a bit of a slog. At times, I am absolutely enthralled, and at other times, I just want to be done with it. I think it is too ambitious and could have been better focused. Is it about the Ganges, or is it about Buddhism,......more

Goodreads review by Moin on June 21, 2022

Fascinating reading the story of a river folded in mythology and history. Throughout the pages, I kept thinking about whether we can come across a comparable scholarship on rivers like the Indus. Dr Sudipta Sen has added meaning to the story of the Ganges. Mostly, one comes across river stories in a......more

Goodreads review by প্রীতম on May 29, 2023

Book: Ganges – The Many Pasts of an Indian River Author: Sudipta Sen Publisher: ‎ Yale University Press; Illustrated edition (1 February 2019) Language: ‎ English Hardcover: ‎ 384 pages Item Weight: ‎ 789 g Dimensions: ‎ 24.13 x 16.26 x 3.05 cm Price: 1893/- ”নদী তুমি কোথা হইতে আসিয়াছ? ” ---- মহাদেবের জটা......more

Goodreads review by Tapas on April 27, 2021

As is on the cover, this book is history of the most sacred river of India(or world) viewed from all the possible lenses- cultural, economic, political and others. Prof. Sen's book has massive amount of research behind it and hence comes out as a bit academic in the middle. This book cannot be diges......more