The Golden Road, How Ancient India Transformed The World by William Dalrymple
I recently began reading The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple, and from the very first chapter, I was captivated. The chapter vividly recounts the history of the Ajanta Caves and it inspired me so much that I drove to the caves, just 80 kilometers from my home, just to see them firsthand. During the visit, our guide mentioned something that resonated deeply: “ये गुफाएँ उस ज़माने में बनी हैं जब भारत आज का अमरीका था” – these caves were built at a time when India was as influential as today’s United States.
Dalrymple’s book, grounded in extensive research, powerfully corroborates this statement, revealing the remarkable influence of ancient India.
At Ajanta, one curiosity I had was to see the ancient blue pigment, lapis lazuli, imported all the way from Mesopotamia. I first read about this color in Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky, and to my amazement, I found it in Cave 2. The blue was as brilliant as it must have been 1,700 years ago. On previous trips to Ajanta, I always marveled at the art, wondering how such extraordinary work was accomplished back then. After reading The Golden Road, I realized that for an India that was then economically, culturally, and scientifically rich, creating such masterpieces was not an insurmountable task.
Dalrymple’s research delves into artefacts unearthed across the Middle East, Europe, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, showcasing how, between 250 BCE and 1200 CE, India was a confident exporter of its own civilization. This period gave rise to an ‘Indosphere’—a region where Indian cultural influence predominated.
What I found most fascinating was how, through sea trade, India not only accumulated immense wealth but also disseminated her cultural, artistic, philosophical, and religious ideas. These ideas profoundly shaped Western and Eastern civilizations, and their impact is still felt across regions and religions today.
Equally impressive is the scientific mindset of ancient Indians. The discovery of zero and the development of a numerical system with nine digits forever transformed the world. It’s also worth admiring how rulers—both Indian and foreign—were passionate about acquiring knowledge. They competed to build libraries, exchanged books as part of treaties, and eagerly sought knowledge from other kingdoms, cultures, and religions. Ironically, despite the connectivity of our modern world, this spirit of openness seems to be diminishing.
As Yuval Noah Harari suggests, history is not just the study of the past but of change. Dalrymple’s book sheds light on events that altered India’s fortunes. After 75 years of independence, India is once again asserting itself on the world stage. The question remains: can we reclaim the global influence we once had?
Reading Insights
The first thing I want to clarify is that the thickness of this book shouldn’t intimidate anyone. The main text makes up about 50% of the pages, with the rest dedicated to extensive notes and bibliography—evidence of the huge amount of research behind it. If you’re interested in ancient paintings and sculptures, you’ll find the book rich with artistic and historical descriptions. I focused primarily on the stories woven around the art, which I found most engaging. It took me around 10 to 12 hours to finish, and I found the language moderately challenging.
While the book may not be “entertaining” in the conventional sense, it thoroughly satisfies curiosity and offers a wealth of knowledge. It’s a book that should not just be read but studied in depth.
About the author (from Goodreads)
William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize.
In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. A collection of his writings about India, The Age of Kali, won the French Prix D’Astrolabe in 2005.
White Mughals was published in 2003, the book won the Wolfson Prize for History 2003, the Scottish Book of the Year Prize, and was shortlisted for the PEN History Award, the Kiryama Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.
In 2002 he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. His Radio 4 series on the history of British spirituality and mysticism, The Long Search, won the 2002 Sandford St Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting and was described by the judges as ‘thrilling in its brilliance… near perfect radio’.
In December 2005 his article on the madrasas of Pakistan was awarded the prize for Best Print Article of the Year at the 2005 FPA Media Awards. In June 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of St Andrews “for his services to literature and international relations, to broadcasting and understanding”. In 2007, The Last Moghal won the prestigous Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. In November 2007, William received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Lucknow University “for his outstanding contribution in literature and history”, and in March 2008 won the James Todd Memorial Prize from the Maharana of Udaipur.
William is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now live on a farm outside Delhi.
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