A Gap Between Truth And Tale Poem by Asit Kumar Sanyal

Harappa civilization came in light
in 1920
during British rule
it gave us
a purely archaeological source
to re-look ancient India
the discovery complemented existing Indian history
based on literature
we got their buildings, tools
artefacts, jewellery
and some sculptures
Intimated about housing, diet, dentistry
and waste management
attested maritime trade
with Sumeria
and led to some cross-dating
It also provided us
the system of writing
400 characters
and their unknown literature.

It deduced
every character represents a word
and they read from right to left
The linguistics said
the characters not related to Sanskrit
and not from Vedic heritage
but might be a kind of Proto-Dravidian
the script had similarities with Brahmi
the earliest Indian script.

It was hoped by historians
the painstaking study will decode
the Harappan language
and people will come to know
the secrets of its civilization.
but despite the best endeavours of
international scholars
And the code-cracking potential of computers,
it remained undeciphered
Scientists couldn't see the face of success.

The world could not know
Who were Harappans?
What did they worship?
From where they came?
and so on ….
A gap remained forever
between the truth and tale
The matured Harappan culture
could not reach fully
in Indian history
till date.

New Delhi
5-2-16