By Vivek Y. Kelkar, Mumbai In the ancient world, Central Asia was understood as the key to the rise and fall of great powers, from ancient Persia to Parthia, Greece, India, China, and the Arab world. The armies of Ögedei Khan—the son of Genghis—traversed these roads to drive into Europe in the 13th century. The Mongol Empire’s western conquests included Volga Bulgaria, almost all of Alania, Cumania, Rus, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Latin Empire, and Austria—and then the Mongols suddenly and inexplicably withdrew. The fabled Silk Route formed the crucial trade link between the east and the west, from China to Rome and beyond.
Mr. Kelkar is on a roll. He’s giving us one great essay after the next. A few years ago, the great British travel writer, Colin Thubrin, wrote a wonderful and revealing book about his travels in Central Asia. It’s a great ethnographic study of that part of the world but it’s very much in the tradition of travel writing, not anthropology.
These days, every time Mr. Kelkar writes something, it reminds me of a book gathering dust on my bookshelf. Anyone who wants a fascinating tour of Central Asia may want to take a look at
Mr. Kelkar is on a roll. He’s giving us one great essay after the next. A few years ago, the great British travel writer, Colin Thubrin, wrote a wonderful and revealing book about his travels in Central Asia. It’s a great ethnographic study of that part of the world but it’s very much in the tradition of travel writing, not anthropology.
These days, every time Mr. Kelkar writes something, it reminds me of a book gathering dust on my bookshelf. Anyone who wants a fascinating tour of Central Asia may want to take a look at
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061231770/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_0061231770