Story Beneath The Story | Book Discussion: 'The Dig' by Sowmiya Ashok

Join us for an engaging discussion with journalist Sowmiya Ashok, author of The Dig, who will be in conversation with Rohini Mohan, journalist and author of The Seasons of Trouble, on what went into the research and writing about India’s most contested digs: the Keeladi excavation in Tamil Nadu. The discussion will be followed by an interactive Q&A with the audience.

Here are the details:

Date: 22nd August 2026, Saturday

Time: 6:00 PM (seating begins at 5:45 PM)

Venue: Champaca Bookstore, Vasanth Nagar

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About the book: 

Since its discovery in 2014, the Keeladi excavation has become one of India's most contested digs - hailed by some as proof of an urban civilization in South India and dismissed by others as political mythmaking. Journalist Sowmiya Ashok traces the serendipitous discovery of this ancient settlement and the political storm it set off. Her journey takes her from the earliest Iron Age sites in Tamil Nadu to the Harappan site of Rakhigarhi in Haryana and the lost port of Muziris in Kerala. Along the way, she chats with archaeologists while sweating under the scorching sun, clings to rickety platforms at a roaring jallikattu arena, and even tastes ancient pottery at an excavation site. Blending sharp insight with humour, The Dig reveals how political battles over science and history continue to shape our understanding of India's past.

Meet the author:

Sowmiya Ashok is a journalist and author of the critically acclaimed book The Dig: Keeladi and The Politics of India's Past. She has worked for prominent national dailies such as The Hindu and The Indian Express. Her work has appeared in leading Indian and international publications. She has reported on politics, policy, social justice, and environment and climate change. In 2019, she was the Beijing correspondent for The Indian Express and has also reported from the US, Taiwan and Sri Lanka. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia Journalism School. She teaches long-form journalism at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She lives in Chennai and writes on politics, history and culture.

About the moderator: 

Rohini Mohan a political journalist who has reported in South Asia for over 20 years. She is the author of The Seasons of Trouble, a non-fiction account of war survivors in Sri Lanka, and Mission Cycle, a children's book on a child in Kashmir experiencing a curfew for the first time.

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