Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia is a travelogue interspersed with history. The author has covered almost the entire region surrounding the Indus including dangerous expanses in Afghanistan and surrounding areas. As the author travels across the country she provides relevant facts and events from history in order to form a complete picture. In a chapter on Sindh, she informs us that even in the past when an empire wanted to colonialize the other, they used excuses such as calling the other empire’s rulers tyrants and that they would free the common citizens, to gain public support for their efforts.
Most of the chapters in the book cover regions in Pakistan as the Indus primarily runs through that country. Indian Punjab, Kashmir and Ladakh are also briefly touched upon before the author finally forays into Tibet in search of the source of the Indus. The author has covered the country side much better than the urban areas and one gets a good picture reading her descriptions. The narration is easy to understand but the author could have avoided use of a few obscene words and graphic details. A few photographs have also been provided to supplement the narration. At times though, the reader yearns for more pictures of the regions described.
On the cultural nuances, Alice Albinia is no William Dalrymple and at many times does not take kindly to regional practices, silently remonstrating against them, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Overall, the book is a good travelogue and serves to help the reader get more than a glimpse of the life around the Indus river, including the dangerous and many hitherto sparsely travelled regions.
