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The Wealth Networks

The Wealth Networks

How Roads, Rivers, and Seas Shaped India | A Fresh History of Trade Routes, Temple Wealth, Ports and Pilgrimage Across India

Akshay Chavan
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We think we know India’s history. The names of kings. The rise and fall of dynasties. But what if this is only the surface of the story?

Have you ever wondered why places like Khajuraho and Ajanta were built far from today’s big cities? Why Chittor was attacked again and again? Where did the enormous wealth of temples like Somnath and Tirupati come from? Are we missing something?

The Wealth Networks looks at Indian history in a different way. It follows the movement of wealth across roads, rivers and seas, tracing the routes through which people, money and ideas travelled. Moving between cities, ports and pilgrimage towns, these routes formed patterns that continue to shape India today. This is not a conventional history. It offers a different way of seeing. Once you notice the patterns, the past and the present begin to look different.

Imprint: Penguin Business

Published: May/2026

ISBN: 9780143477853 (Hardback)

Length : 464 Pages

MRP : ₹999.00

The Wealth Networks

How Roads, Rivers, and Seas Shaped India | A Fresh History of Trade Routes, Temple Wealth, Ports and Pilgrimage Across India

Akshay Chavan

We think we know India’s history. The names of kings. The rise and fall of dynasties. But what if this is only the surface of the story?

Have you ever wondered why places like Khajuraho and Ajanta were built far from today’s big cities? Why Chittor was attacked again and again? Where did the enormous wealth of temples like Somnath and Tirupati come from? Are we missing something?

The Wealth Networks looks at Indian history in a different way. It follows the movement of wealth across roads, rivers and seas, tracing the routes through which people, money and ideas travelled. Moving between cities, ports and pilgrimage towns, these routes formed patterns that continue to shape India today. This is not a conventional history. It offers a different way of seeing. Once you notice the patterns, the past and the present begin to look different.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Akshay Chavan

Akshay Chavan is an author drawn to the currents that bind societies across time. Educated at the University of Lancaster, he spent more than a decade in the fast-moving world of digital media and e-commerce before turning back to the slower rhythms of history. Between 2017 and 2025, he founded and led Live History India, the country’s first digital platform devoted to history and culture, and wrote over two hundred articles exploring India’s social, economic, and cultural past. He now heads the Pratiti Foundation, which works with diverse communities to cultivate shared knowledge, skills, and enduring livelihoods.

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