CHENNAI: How could a lone survivor completely rebuild a whole civilisation? Maneesha Agrawal’s new book, From Zero to One, speaks of the story of King Manu, who was, according to legend, the only human being alive on earth after the great floods.
Being a graduate in Sanskrit, Maneesha had an interest in history since her childhood. She started reading at the age of five. She was an admirer of the Indian school of thought. The philosophical aspects of humanity is what kick-started her thought process for the book.
Dribbling her thoughts, she speaks of the great flood and how the incident was a common aspect in many other religions like Judaism, Islam and Christianity. She was awed by the fact that a lone survivor had the capacity to build a whole new civilisation single-handedly. She went through a lot of scriptures and ancient history on human civilisation as a part of her three months of rigorous research.
“Since there are so many versions of the same event in different religions, it’s important to get the words right and ensure that no religion is offended,” she says. She is all set to release the book within a fortnight and remembers her late husband to whom she has dedicated the book.