In Defence of the Realm - Softcover

The author, an archaeologist and heritage consultant, was born in 1965 in Nagpur, India. He grew up in Mumbai (Bombay) but spent his formative years in the Philippines and then the USA. He later went to the Universities of Toronto and Texas where he specialized in the search for oil and gas. In 1992, he was offered the opportunity to excavate as part of the Archaeological Survey of India's excavation at the 5000-year-old Harappan Civilization city of Dholavira on the island of Khadir in the Great Rann of Kutch. He excavated at Dholavira till 1998 and dug out parts of the city, the citadel and the cemetery complex, as well as, parts of the reservoir system including a water storage tank and a dam. He also excavated with Deccan College the Ahar Culture site of Balathal (3500 BC--1700 BC) which pushed back the age of this culture by almost 2000 years. After getting married in 1999 to a fellow archaeologist, they joined the joint Deccan College and University of Pennsylvania team excavating at the Ahar Culture site of Gilund (2500BC--1700 BC), where the team found many new facets of that culture. The most important of these include the presence of a written script, the oldest tandoor (clay oven), and the oldest 'Nandi' bull figurine, as well as a beautifully maintained road with wheel tracks and repaired potholes! Since 1999, he has also been actively working to promote, preserve, and protect the vast cultural and natural heritage in and around the city of Pune, where he lives. He is also an active photographer and trekker, who enjoys travelling and exploring new places. Some of his adventures have led to the discovery of many long forgotten and lost places around Pune, including Megalithic stone burials (1000BC-200 BC) to the east and north of Pune, a lost French soldiers' cemetery dating from the 18th Century, and long-forgotten British, Jewish, and German graveyards. One thing the author would love to recommend to the reader is that if they ever get the opportunity, they must visit Dholavira in the months of December or January. During these months, in addition to the site, one can see thousands of nesting flamingos and cranes in the waters offshore and also the rare Indian Onager or 'wild ass' in its last refuge. The author would also like to recommend to the reader that they should look around where they live -- there are always new adventures waiting to be experienced. Hailing from Sultanpur District of Uttar Pradesh, Lalit is one of those lucky souls whose passion turned into his profession. A self-confessed 'Wikipedia addict', Lalit is an experienced artist who has been in the Indian comic industry for long. His keen interest in science and nature has inspired him to create brilliant artworks. His fantastic work features in a number of titles from Campfire, which include Alibaba and the Forty Gangsters and Leonardo da Vinci.