Far Beyond the Dead End

Far Beyond the Dead End is a novel that re-imagines what life in the city of Mohenjo-Daro would have been like. Literally translated as Mound Of The Dead, the ruins of this site is situated in the present-day province of Sindh, in Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro was a part of the Indus Valley civilisation, and was one of its largest settlements. The city has now been deemed as an archaeological site, with Unesco naming it as a World Heritage Site. It was one of the most advanced cities of its time, and one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley civilisation. Upon excavation, archaeologists discovered a significant amount of artifacts that have made the city a popular inclusion in many history text books in the country.The novel tells the story of life under the mound of the dead, metaphorically going under the ruins of the present-day site to uncover a city that is brimming with life. There are many different characters in the story: the enigmatic Koli, the dreamy Sindhu, the passionate Girad, the old priest prophesying doom, and so on. The life and times of these characters forms the crux of the story: how their dreams, love, greed, and delusions interact to shape the circumstances around them. A lust for gold, fame and glory leads to a series of deaths whose cause remains unexplained. This ruthless game of bloodlust and hunger for power leads them onto a path that they cannot return from, setting off a chain of events that threatens to shake the foundations of the very city they live in. All their activities come to light thousands of years later, when they are discovered among the ruins of a city that once was mighty.Far Beyond the Dead End was published by Srishti Publishers & Distributors in the year 2014. The book is available in paperback.