Wed Apr 30 03:30:00 UTC 2025: **Bengaluru Economist’s Graphic Novel Traces Ancient Iron-Smelting in India**
Bengaluru, India (April 30, 2025) – Dr. Sashi Sivramkrishna, an economist and chairman of the Foundation to Aid Industrial Recovery (FAIR), has published a graphic novel, “A Journey into the Furnace of History: The Dying Embers of Ancient Iron-Smelting in India,” documenting a two-decade-long research project. The project began with an investigation into the “curse of Talakadu,” a local legend in Mysore. This led Dr. Sivramkrishna to the work of 19th-century Scottish surveyor Francis Buchanan, whose writings detailed the region’s iron-smelting industry.
Inspired by Buchanan’s detailed account of daily life, Dr. Sivramkrishna retraced his journey, discovering that the traditional iron-smelting craft, practiced in South India for millennia, had largely disappeared. His research, which involved interviews with locals and analysis of historical records, revealed that the decline was connected not only to the introduction of modern technology, but also to the massive deforestation required to fuel the smelting process, fueled in part by the high demand for iron during periods of warfare.
The graphic novel, illustrated by Harsho Mohan Chattoraj, aims to make this complex research accessible to a wider audience. Dr. Sivramkrishna argues that environmental history in India often overlooks the significant impact of pre-colonial industries like iron-smelting on deforestation, a point his work emphasizes. The book challenges conventional narratives by connecting environmental, military, social, and political history to provide a more holistic understanding of India’s past. The graphic novel is available on the FAIR India website.
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