Lesson 1: Geography and Early India (Ancient India)
🏔️ Geography of India
India is a big country in South Asia. It has tall mountains, wide rivers, and flat lands. The Himalaya Mountains are the tallest in the world! These snowy mountains are in the north and helped protect India from enemies.
In the south, there is the Deccan Plateau. It is dry and rocky. But in the north, there is the Indo-Ganges Plain, where two big rivers—the Indus River and the Ganges River—flow. These rivers gave water to the people, which helped them grow food. 🌾
☀️ Climate
India has hot summers and cool winters. But the most important season is the monsoon. A monsoon is heavy rain that comes in the summer. People wait for the monsoon like a gift from the sky. Without it, their crops would die. Sometimes, the rain came late, and people would pray for it. Other times, it came too strong and caused floods. 🌧️
🏙️ Harappan Civilization
Around 4,500 years ago, a great civilization grew near the Indus River. This was the Harappan Civilization. It had some of India’s first cities!
🧱 India’s First Cities
Two of the biggest cities were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. They had brick houses, roads, and even sewers! The people were clean and smart. Each house had a bathroom. Can you believe that?
The cities were well-planned. Streets crossed like a grid, just like in many modern cities today.
Story Time!
One day, a British railroad worker found something strange near the Indus River—a piece of old brick. He thought it was nothing. But later, archaeologists came and dug more. They found a whole city under the ground! That city was Mohenjo Daro. Imagine finding a whole city by accident!
🏺 Harappan Achievements
The Harappan people were great builders and good at making things. They made beautiful pottery, jewelry, and toys. Yes, even back then, children had toys like carts with wheels and clay animals! 🐂
They also had a writing system, but no one today can read it. The writing was made of symbols, and we can only guess what they mean.
Fun Fact!
Harappans used seals (like stamps) to mark their goods. One seal had a picture of a unicorn-like animal. Historians are still trying to figure out what it means!
🌟 Summary
India’s geography—its mountains, rivers, and rain—helped people live and grow food. Around the Indus River, the Harappan civilization built amazing cities with smart planning and cool inventions. Even today, we are learning more about these first city-builders of India.