In the Country of Gold Digging Ants: 2000 Years of Travel In India (Paperback)

Do you think Indian history is boring? Check out what these ancient reporters had to say about our country many centuries ago. In his book, Indika, Megasthenes, a Greek traveller, wrote about giant meat-eating ants that dug for gold in mines somewhere in eastern India! Hiuen Tsang, from China, was witness to an assassination attempt on King Harshavardhana at a religious gathering. The Venetian Marco Polo described how the people of Kashmir could use charms to change the weather and bring about darkness. Athanasius Nikitin, from Russia, was amazed by the sultan of Bidar, who went hunting accompanied by 10,000 men on horseback, 50,000 on foot, 200 elephants, 100 dancers, 300 horses, 100 monkeys and 100 concubines! Read astonishing stories about India written by explorers who came to the country as pilgrims, students, traders, voyagers and fortune-seekers from the 3rd century BC till the mid-twentieth century.

These visitors left behind fascinating accounts of their perilous journeys in an unknown land; descriptions of what the people ate, wore and thought; who ruled them and how; the strange animals of this land, and many more startling facts which are often the only written historical records of those times. Filled with incredible stories and nuggets of information, In the Country of Gold-digging Ants brings alive the exciting adventures of eleven intrepid men and women, and may just make history your most favourite subject! Age group of target audience (Puffin): 12 Quote 'No single book of history can teach as much as this little book does, and not only about India and its past. As you read these accounts left by men and women who were so curious to know the world . . . you feel inspired and reassured'--Krishna Kumar, Director, N.C.E.R.T.