Were Harappan cities much advanced than the modern cities of India? Yes, says Michel Danino, guest professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar.
Delivering a lecture on ‘Harappan Expertise in Civil Engineering’ to commemorate World Heritage Day, at IIT-Madras, Danino said the cities built during the Harappan era were well-planned and scored over the contemporary civilisation.
Danino, who has authored The Lost River: On The Trail of the Sarasvati, said the cities at large resembled anything better than the modern Indian cities.
Talking about the civilisation, Danino who hails from France, said that Harappa and Mohenjo daro civilisations had several distinct quarters, assembly halls, and manufacturing units of various types.
Sewerage through underground drains built with precisely laid bricks and an efficient water management system with numerous reservoirs and wells were cited by Danino as examples of well-planned methods.
“Geometrically designed, the towns had fortifications for protection against both intruders and floods,” he said. He also said that the wells of those times were constructed using special ‘trapezoid’ bricks.
Talking about the Dholavira site in Rann of Kutch, Danino said it had separate drains to collect rain water and six to seven dams built across the nearby rivers.
The Harappans were one of the pioneers in water harvesting system, he said and added that the rain pattern of the region in Kutch had not changed much in over four thousand years.
This, he said, can be gauged from the fact that the Harappans at Dholavira were well aware of the need to conserve water – a trait sadly lacking in modern India. In addition, he said that there were five types of plans for Harappan houses.
Talking about the Kalibangan site, he said the lower town’s streets formed a well-planned and carefully maintained grid.