Life in the Indus Valley by Joyce and David Mollet
Introduction
Today, the IndusValley is a desert. However, the IndusRiverruns through this desert. A long time ago, the IndusValley was a green and fertile jungle. Many wild beasts lived in the jungle. This story tells of that time, many years ago.
Indatri had been born and raised in the town of Mohenjo-Daro. Her father, Avara, was a trader. He decided to move his family to the city of Balakot on the coast. Indatri was 12 at the time.
Balakot was a port on the main trade route. Boats arrived there daily. They brought goods to the city from far away. Once unloaded, the boats would be quickly filled with a new cargo. They were then ready to continue their journey.
A New Beginning
Indatri awoke and opened her eyes. For a moment she did not know where she was. Then she remembered. She was in her new bed, in her new room.
"I am so glad that the long journey is over," she thought.
It was many weeks since she and her family had left Mohenjo-Daro. Together, they had started the 250 mile journey down to the coast. It had been a slow journey. They had brought with them everything they owned. Their possessions were packed into bullock carts. They could travel only as fast as the slowest cart.
The Decision Explained
They had a beautiful new house in Balakot. Even so, Indatri still felt sad at the thought of leaving her friends and everything that was familiar. She did not blame her father for moving. It had all made sense when he had talked to them some months ago.
"Your grandfather has become too old to run the business at the coast," Avara told them. "I must move there and take over that part of the family business."
"Your brother, Datri, will stay here in Mohenjo-Daro to take care of the land routes. Your uncle will stay in Harappa to deal with the inland trade."
Thoughts of Home
Trade was very important in the IndusValley. It was second only to farming. Farming was the most important industry around Mohenjo-Daro.
Indatri would often escape with her pet dog into the fields around her home. She had to keep him close to her because he loved to bite the camels’ ankles. Sometimes he would chase the cattle into the wheat fields. Fields of wheat and barley stretched as far as the eye could see. There were also crops of melons, sesame, field-peas and dates.
"Will I ever stop longing for my homeland?" Indatri said to herself.
Just then she heard the heavy rumbling of bullock carts passing the house.
"This is very early for street traffic," she thought.
Houses in the Valley
Indatri wanted to look out of a window to see what was happening. However, the house had no windows facing the street. Her new house was much the same as the one in Mohenjo-Daro. It was also similar to her uncle’s house in Harappa.
The house was quite large and in the center was an open courtyard. Stairs went up to a flat roof. With a bucket and long rope the family brought up water from a well in the courtyard. In the bathroom there was a drain into an underground sewer system.
Indatri ran through the silent house in her bare feet. She made her way up to the flat roof. She looked over the low wall to the street below.
There she saw a number of bullock carts. In the soft light of dawn she could see that the carts were full of wicker baskets. She gasped in horror when she saw what was inside the baskets. There were birds in every basket. They were mainly black crows and they were all pecking and struggling to get free. She had never seen anything like this in Mohenjo-Daro.
"Those poor birds," she thought, "This is an awful place. I shall never get used to it."
Mohenjo-Daro
At that moment she wanted to be back in her home city. In her imagination she was there, climbing the thirty-foot mound to the great citadel. The citadel was the center of religion and government for Mohenjo-Daro’s 35,000 people.
In the middle of the citadel was the Great Bath. It was a huge, deep bath with steps leading into it. The people used it in their religion because they believed water had special qualities.
Indatri also remembered the great granary in Mohenjo-Daro where the grain was stored. It was a huge building made of thousands of fired bricks. It could hold enough food to feed all the people of the city for a long time.
Closing her eyes, Indatri could see herself running through the wide main streets of Mohenjo-Daro. The main streets ran from north to south. There were smaller streets that ran from east to west. There were even narrower lanes that divided the houses.
A Common Plan
"All our cities are alike, Indatri," her father had once told her. "Our valley has a strong government that rules all the cities. When the cities were first built, they were all planned by the same people," he explained.
"Could it be then that Balakot will be familiar?" she wondered.
At that moment the squawking of the birds brought her back to the present. She ran down the stairs and out of the house. She decided to find out what was going to happen to the poor creatures. She followed the carts and found herself going towards the port. She passed many craft workshops. They were not yet open for business. Soon she reached the waterfront.
A Discovery
Sadly, she watched as the bird catcher loaded the baskets on to the ships that were tied up along the front.
"You poor birds," she whispered to herself. "So that is what happens to you. You are served up for meals on board ship during the long voyage."
The thought of these birds not being able to fly upset her. With tears in her eyes she turned for home. She was about to cry when she saw her new home and felt comforted. The house, like other buildings in the Valley, was made of baked clay bricks. It had strong wooden beams to support the flat roof. It was a familiar sight. It could almost have been her old home.
Beautiful Possessions
"Where have you been?" Yamuru, her mother, called. She hardly stopped from the task of unpacking. Yamuru was safely storing her most precious possessions. She was carefully unpacking her best pottery. She was very pleased. Her fine pots had not been broken on the journey.
She had unpacked all sorts of beads onto a colorful cotton cloth. There was also a beautiful necklace that was made of turquoise and lapis lazuli. All the women wore bangles, earrings, and brightly beaded necklaces. Yamuru would often wear her hair in braids. On special occasions, she would put it up in a fancy headdress. She looked as beautiful as the richest lady.
"I have seen such a sad thing," said Indatri, and she told her story. To her surprise her father threw back his head and laughed.
Back to the Waterfront
"Come," he said to his daughter. "Get yourself something to eat and come with me. I have to meet with the captains of some of the ships down at the waterfront."
Avara went in search of his seal. He carefully put it around his neck. Every trader had a seal. He used it to make his special mark. Avara’s seal, a horned bull, looked very fine resting against his colorful cotton robe. It showed that he was important. Indatri walked proudly beside her father. The waterfront was even more crowded than earlier.
"The ships are quite different to the flat-bottomed boats we used to see on the river in Mohenjo-Daro, father," said Indatri.
"You are right, child. That is because these ships go out to sea," her father replied.
"Some of these ships have traveled west along the coast collecting copper from Afghanistan. Others have sailed even further south to India for gold.
These are the ships that have traded timber, ivory and pottery in Mesopotamia and silver and turquoise in Persia. They are calling at Balakot before sailing again."
Indatri Learns the Truth
Avara stopped to talk to one of the captains. Indatri knew her father was repeating her story to the captain. The captain came over and smiled at her.
"The last thing you should do, young lady, is to worry over these birds," the captain said to her. "They are very well looked after. There are times when these creatures are our lifeline."
Indatri did not understand and looked up at him.
"We never sail without our birds on board," said the captain. "When a mist comes down at sea, or we lose sight of land, it can be frightening. We release one of our birds and it flies towards the nearest land. If we follow the path of the bird we will always head safely home."
Indatri smiled with relief. She now knew that these birds would eventually fly free.
Things Look Brighter
"Come, my daughter, we must return home," Avara said. "My work is finished for today."
Indatri began to see Balakot in a new light.
"Maybe this will not be such a bad place to live," she thought. "It might even prove to be more interesting than Mohenjo-Daro."
A terracotta amulet discovered by archaeologists in Mohenjo-Daro shows a representation of a ship together with "compass birds."