A Harappan Adventure
by Sunila Gupte and illustrated by Hemant Kumar
“A Harappan Adventure” by Sunila Gupte and illustrated by Hemant Kumar. Published by Penguin. An adventure filled story of Avani and her friends from Bagasra village in Harappa in 2570 BCE.
Twelve year old Avani loves spending time playing with her friends Tavishi, Amber and Delshad. She is extremely adventurous and happy go lucky. She is introduced in the story exploring the mysterious Bhoot Byet or ghost island in the river by herself after being dared by her friends. Thankfully Tavishi follows and rescues her when her raft is lost. Despite the ominous signs and rumours about the abandoned island, the friends are highly curious to go around the island and find out more about it.
Their village is getting geared up for the wedding of the village elder’s daughter Ketika to the son of the priest King no less. However something sinister is afoot. Avani realises the inexplicable presence of two strange men when she overhears a mysterious conversation between them. Strange incidents start taking place in the village. A bizarre robbery and a sudden fire at the grain storage room create an atmosphere of tension. The only clues seem to be some ordinary looking toys strewn around. Are these events connected? Is there a bigger conspiracy at work? Who are the strange men that Avani saw and what are their plans? Will the wedding take place without any problems? Will the honour of Bagasra be protected? Can Avani and her friends unravel the mystery? Read the gripping story to go on an adventure with Avani and her friends in Harappan times.
My 8.5 year old had a whale of a time reading about the adventure with me. He was amused to know about this period of history through the story. The twinkle in his eyes when the friends set out to Bhoot Byet as well as set out to solve the mysterious problems being faced showed that he was enjoying the story. A repeated question that he had was with regard to their names which sounded quite modern according to him like Tavishi. We had already read a picture book on Indus Valley civilisation called “Thangam of Mehrgarh” earlier and he was familiar with some of the facts. This book gave him additional information about this period of history through the story.
The book is part of the “Girls of India” series which makes us travel back to different eras of Indian history with the girls who lived in them giving us a glimpse of their lives. We had already read and enjoyed the latest book from the series called “A Chera Adventure”. Now we are eagerly waiting to lay our hands on the other two books of the series set during the times of the Cholas and Mauryas.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book gives a fascinating insight into the society and life in general during the times of the Indus Valley Civilisation through the eyes of children. This makes it interesting for the children who read it.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.