Subhadra Sen Gupta's posthumous book unveils vast sweep of civilisations

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) Subhadra Sen Gupta, who passed away on May 3 due to Covid-19, leaves behind "The Story of the First Civilizations", a fun and informative book for children about the ancient civilizations from around the world -- Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Greece, Rome, the Americas and Africa -- that has just been published by Talking Club/Speaking Tiger.

Laced with maps and rich illustrations by Devashish Verma, the book delves into the cultures, inventions, architecture, governments, and little-known stories about our origins.

For instance, did you know:

The Indus Valley Civilisation was perhaps the cleanest and most organised of all civilisations?

The Chinese were the first civilisation to introduce the concept of exams?

There used to be an Inca king who would dust himself with gold?

Dive into these and many more nuggets of information about the world's earliest civilisations. Here you will read about the Egyptian rulers who built lavish tombs for their afterlife; about Greece, the first European civilisation that gave us philosophers and mathematicians as well as the cherished concept of democracy; the builders and architects and the gladiators and warring emperors of Rome; and about Africa, the continent where gold and libraries abounded.

In her unique and engaging style, Sen Gupta takes us on a journey around the world, and tells the known and little-known stories about our origins. Well-researched and filled with captivating illustrations, "The Story of the First Civilisations" will delight and educate readers everywhere.

Announcing the release, Talking Cub Publisher Sudeshna Shome Ghosh said: "Subhadra Sen Gupta's works, especially those that brought history to life in new and interesting ways for children are an invaluable contribution to Indian writing for children in English. In this book, she wrote about the history of the world through the stories of ancient civilisations.

"It was a project that had thrilled and excited her and she had tackled it with her usual enthusiasm and meticulous research. As always, the writing here remained fresh, accessible, humorous�everything far removed from what one expects from history books. It was an honour and huge responsibility for us to publish this book after her tragic demise earlier this year," Shome added.

Subhadra Sen Gupta (1952�2021) wrote over 40 books for children because she thought children are the best readers in the world. In 2014, she was awarded the Bal Sahitya Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi. In 2020, she won the Big Little Book Award instituted by Parag�An Initiative of Tata Trusts.