Indica: A deep natural history of the Indian Subcontinent

The Science of it was daunting but Pranay Lal talked to me.  The first thing that hits strongly is how India specific the book is;  every fossil, flora, fauna and human settlement that was talked about was from places I knew, some in my backyard. Like the lunar monoliths in Brahmagiri near Chitradurga, get out! Of course the title says Indian sub-continent, but still you know, when all my life I have read of references made to all the places but here. The extensive work done here is just not talked about in the mainstream. Or maybe I hadn't looked beyond what was in front of me.

Many parts stood out, will talk of a few that made connections beyond the factual (the book is heavily researched and he openly states the dynamism of the ongoing findings that are almost daily adding and/or changing the narrative).

1. The sheer fight to live blows your mind. The millions and billions of years it took to get to some semblance of life makes me cry. Life fought hard to get here and lost so many species along the way - including some who looked like us. The back and forth and many species have done - both flora and fauna, the blessing and the curse of massive changes in climate they adapted to or perished is astounding.

2. Pangea and Gondwana (named after the Gond tribe) was brought alive;  the movement of land, the crossing of the species, literally being able to walk over to a continent that today is thousands of kms away is surreal. I knew what Pangea was, but really never understood the interplay of how it morphs, till now. Of course, I need to read more on it!

3. The importance of being a generalist over a specialist. The survival of the fittest means the most adaptable not the most strongest, and a generalist (a jill of all trades) fares better than a specialist. Apparently being a generalist over several millions of years paid dividends for many mammals. The BBC podcast talks about the same thing (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p003hyfl) with respect to Neanderthals, evidence points to them being generalists.

4. Homo Erectus lost the body hair as the climate got warmer, started sweating to cool down instead of hanging his/her tongue to cool down. Relaxed jaw and muscles around the vocal cords could have opened up means to communicate.

5. Being upright meant you need outside help during the birthing process, one reason for building a community. Being upright changed the pelvic size and structure, an infant needed taking care (extended childhood) compared to many other species. The start of a familial structure.

And so much more.

Fantastic read and tons of beautiful pictures. Pranay's task of taking us on a journey that is staggeringly vast is goose-bumpy to say the least. and it is a true reminder of how we are a testament of all that came before us. I am glad I read it. On the pretext of knowing about India's natural history, I built an understanding of our universe beyond what school taught me, pop-culture references and random online reading.

---

Places I marked down for a visit. He has graciously provided coordinates!

1. Nandi Hills - Dharwar Craton 3.5 billion years old

2. Arrossim, Goa - lunar monoliths

3. Ramanagara, near Bangalore

4. The Dhala Crater

5. Vivekananda rock - Gondwana Junction :)

6. Markanda River by the Sirmour District - Fossils galore

7. The Pranhita - Godavari Valley