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The Indus Valley (The Masters of the River)

Posted on November 13, 2013May 2, 2025 by Dharma Documentaries
A look at the remarkable Indus Valley civilisation represented by one of its largest sites at Dholavira.

The-Masters-of-the-River

This documentary, made by NHK (Japan) and Canadian TV, looks at the early Indus Valley civilisation, focusing on one of the lesser known sites at Dholavira, in what is now Gujarat, in western India.

With the help of CGI animation the documentary reconstructs the ruined city and shows how the civilisation was able to grow to a formidable size by its innovative harnessing of a now vanished river system.

Interviewing some of the leading experts on the site, including Dr RS Bisht, who is the leader of the archeological research, the film pieces together one of the most remarkable stages in human development, when, with the rise of city life, international trade across large areas became feasible.

This becomes important when trying to deipher the Indus Valley script, around 200 characters of which have been found in Dholavira. They also traveled along the trade routes to Sumeria, and if one day the script is deciphered it will quite possibly be through finding parallel texts in the two scripts.

Anyone wanting to understand more about the pre-Aryan history of India would do well to watch this programme which is one of the better produced films I have seen on this ancient civilisation.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, try reloading the page; and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of screenshots click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, History, India, Indus Valley, Pakistan

8 thoughts on “The Indus Valley (The Masters of the River)”

  1. Desmond says:
    November 13, 2013 at 10:46 pm

    It would be good if there were subtitles when the Frenchman speaks….it’s all lost to us.

    Perhaps a transcript can be made avaliable if the costs of transcribing are too high.

    Reply
    1. Anandajoti says:
      November 14, 2013 at 4:58 am

      There is an option for automatic captions when the video is running (see bottom right), if you turn this on, then the French will be translated as you watch.

      Reply
  2. Rohan says:
    March 10, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    Great work and superb reliable information.

    Rohan

    Reply
  3. SANGITA SHROFF says:
    March 12, 2017 at 10:58 pm

    Where can I download this film; would like to show it to students

    Reply
    1. Anandajoti says:
      March 25, 2017 at 7:39 am

      You can simply download from youtube.

      Reply
  4. Gagan says:
    March 22, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    I found another one video about this civilization
    https://www.earthismysterious.com/a-tour-to-the-ancient-city-of-mohenjo-daro/

    Reply
    1. Dharma Documentaries says:
      March 22, 2020 at 8:10 pm

      Thank you Gagan, will review it.

      Reply
  5. Neasha Patel says:
    May 3, 2024 at 9:08 pm

    Good documentry make sure to watch it

    Reply

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