Sense of Indian geography

[chickenfeet]

I've posted more than once about my annoyance about politician x having no sense of history. This post is about my annoyance at having a limited sense of geography. I'm a map fiend. I learned to read OS maps at an early age, in part at least because, as 11 year olds, my school used to bus us into the Herts/Essex countryside and dump us with an OS map, a compass and a set of cryptic instructions on how to get home. As the years have gone by I've acquired a good sense of the geography of most of Europe and North America. If I read a narrative of the battle of Stalingrad I don't need to get an atlas out to understand the importance of the bridges over the Don at Kalach. Now, though I'm flummoxed. The atlases we own and the various on-line sources readily available provide a really crappy view of the geography of India. Sure, I can figure out the real broad brush stroke stuff but that's as far as it goes. I'm trying to figure out the strategic logic of Wellesley's campaign against the Mahratta confederacy and I am severely geographically challenged. Where does one find decent maps of India that give some idea of what the terrain is actually like?

Comments

[a-d-medievalist.livejournal.com]

There might be one in a Flashman book ... there are some good descriptions also in the first couple of Sharpe books

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

It's the first three Sharpe books I'm trying to figure out. Unfortunately I only have the audio versions.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Hahahahaha! I was wondering if you'd started on the Sharpe early novels!

[a-d-medievalist.livejournal.com]

I am pretty sure the books have maps ...

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

My grasp of Indian geography depends largely on cricket teams. Mihir Bose's history has maps showing the names before and after independence. But I don't think it's terribly good on geographical detail.

[rparvaaz.livejournal.com]

This book has a list of maps that would fit your criterion the best. (http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521824443&ss=fro) Maybe you could find it in a library or something.

This has some maps but no extensive geographical detail. still, might be worth a look, as I have no idea what you are currently looking at. :) (http://orbat.com/site/maps/india/map_list.html)

This Wiki map (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/India1760_1905.jpg) is not too bad.

This (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl) will let you zoom in and check more details.

If I find anything else, I'll leave another comment. But I do need get some work done now. :)

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm still going to try and find something with more detail but those got me further than the Rand-McNally World Atlas.

[white_hart]

Have you tried Google Earth? I don't know how detailed the satellite pictures of India are, but it might be worth a try.

I'm quite surprised to find someone else who will read a novel with an atlas beside them if it's set somewhere they're unfamiliar with!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Novels, military history, probably some other stuff too. Must have maps...

[unblinkered.livejournal.com]

my school used to bus us into the Herts/Essex countryside and dump us with an OS map, a compass and a set of cryptic instructions on how to get home

Brilliant! I'd like to see a school try that these days without the teacher in charge getting lynched by overprotective parents... I'd be the same...I can't remember not being able to read maps! My granddad loved maps and taught be when I was ickle...one of his favourite stories was how they got lost in Dublin traffic one time and that he ended up taking the map away from my mum's partner and giving it to 12 year old me to navigate us back to safety!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

It's still asurprise to me when otherwise apparently intelligent, educated and competent people turn out not to be able to use a map and compass.