MY FIRST IMPOSSIBLE DESTINATION MOHENJO DARO.

There are a few places on earth that I really  want to see. I am quite sure that I will manage to see a lot of these places, but there are at least four places which may always remain out of bound for me.  They were part of India at one time, but now they no longer are easily accessible to us.These places are now located in Pakistan, and are Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Takshashila and Lahore.

Two of them belong to the Indus Valley Civilization, one belongs to the beginning of the AD era and the last belongs to a more contemporary era.

A well in a compound & the drain

I have therefore embarked on this trip sitting in my chair with my lovely Mac, a tall glass full of cold coffee and away I go on my trip. I am so  happy that I am not spending any money too. Away, away on the wings of my mind, I land on the Mound of the Dead, or as most of you would call it Mohenjo Daro. This ancient city sits on elevated ground in  Larkana district of Sindh province in Pakistan. Mohenjo daro is a town of the  Indus Valley Civilzation which  existed during the Bronze age from 3300 BC to 1300 BC. This civilization was spread from North East Afghanistan to North West India. It was near the river Indus, Ghaggar and Hakra. The  two other ancient Civilizations that flourished during this time were Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia .

A seal

It is said that there were over 5 million inhabitants here. They had developed new techniques in handicraft and metallurgy, they dealt with copper, bronze, lead and tin.Their major business was agriculture as well as trade with the present day Middle East.

The most amazing aspect of that time was the way the people lived. I am talking of about 4000 years ago. Buddha lived about 2500 years ago, Indus valley was 1500 years before that too! Looking at the villages of contemporary India today, it is surprising to know that even 4000 years ago, in the Indus Valley there was urban planning, houses were made of baked brick, there was an elaborate drainage system and water supply system too. There were bathing areas in the houses,toilets and also a plumbing system akin to what we have now. Wells have been  found throughout the city. The houses were often in two stories. There were precise lanes and the city was well planned.

The Great Bath

The most impressive structure excavated at Mohenjo-Daro so far, is the Great Bath. It was constructed with kiln-burnt bricks, and is  12 metres long, 7 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep. Gypsum has been used along with mortar to make the floor and sides of the pool water-tight. The pool is in the centre of a large open quadrangle with rooms and galleries on all sides.  The pool was fed by a near by well and the dirty water was drained into the city's sewage system through a corbelled drain. It seems as though they were very particular about cleanliness and bathing. 

There was also a cluster of large non residential buildings.  There were no ostentatious palaces, temples or monuments.There's no obvious  evidence of a king or queen. Mohenjo Daro was most probably  governed as a city-state, perhaps by elected officials or elites.

Pottery and tools of copper and stone were standardized, There were proper weights and there were a lot of seals. There are  ceramic similarities  in pottery, seals, figurines, ornaments, found in Central Asia, the Iranian plateau and southern Turkmenistan, which speak of intensive caravan trade with them.

Dancing girl

A miniature bronze statuette of a nude female,which is 4.1" high, known as the "dancing girl", was found here and  is now displayed at the National Museum in New Delhi. Amongst the artifacts found here are those made of ivory, lapis, carnelian and gold beads. A lot of seals have been found with figures of animals. 

Priest King

There is a stone sculpture  of a Priest King also found which is now displayed at the National Museum Karachi.  It is called Priest King although it is known that there were perhaps no kings at that time. This is the figure of a seated male, it is 6.9" tall. The hair is neatly combed back and the cloak draped on the left shoulder has a beautiful pattern.

Each city in the Indus Valley was surrounded by massive walls and gateways. The walls were built to control trade and also to stop the city from being flooded. Each part of the city was made up of walled sections. Each section included different buildings such as Public buildings, houses, markets, craft workshops. Over the years, the level of streets and houses were raised owing to the accumulation of debris  which necessitated raising the height of the wells. This is the reason why very tall wells are often seen at Harappa and in the surrounding areas.

Who were they, what did they do, how were they so advanced, how did that civilization end, is a big question. They had a script which has not yet been deciphered, once that is deciphered a lot of the questions will be answered. This script is written from right to left.