Lords Of The Deccan: Southern India From The Chalukyas To

Indian History textbooks are largely made up of just 6 chapters; Indus Valley, Vedic Age, Mauryas, Gupta's, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire. History ends with British Rule.This myopic view of Indian history is not just misleading, it is outright wrong. India is a vast and diverse sub-continent, each part of the country, each language group has a story as old and as interesting as the Indo Gangetic plain and these narratives must reach every Indian and must find their rightful place both in our text books and in popular imagination, and not be limited to the work and study of academic historians.This important book by Anirudh Kanisetti is just such an attempt. It tells a thrilling half a millennial tale of India South of the Vindhyas.It starts with the rise of the Chalukyas of Vatapi and their deadly struggle with the Pallavas of Tamilakkam. Follows through with their eclipse by their former vassals, the Rashtrakutas who left us the spectacular legacy of the Kailasanatha temple of Ellora. And concludes with the revived imperium of the Chalukyas of Kalyana.The writing is fresh and describes with verve the very human personalities of the men who assumed the title of Sri Prithvi Vallabha - Emperors of the Deccan. It describes their gory struggles with the rivals in Tamilakkam as well as central India. It paints vividly imaginative verbal pictures of the lavish courts and glittering ceremonies of these powerful rulers. The book also touches upon the economic developments through the ages and global trade linkages forged by mighty merchant guilds of the age.All in all a splendid account of a very important part of our history that so far hasn't gotten it's dues.

LORDS OF THE DECCANBy Anirudh KanisettiA ReviewA lovely book I purchased two days ago. I'm already halfway through it. (I hope to finish it over the next couple of days, provided I stay away from that distractive tamasha, the IPL!)The author has covered the genesis, rise and eventual fall of the Chalukya Dynasty that ruled over a considerable swathe of the Indian subcontinent, geographically located south of the Vindhya range of mountains. This covers primarily the modern states of Maharashtra and Karnataka and adds on parts of Gujarat on the west and Andhra Pradesh (undivided) on the east, i.e from the western to the eastern coast of BharatavarshaChronologically, it covers a period of about 500 years or half a millennium, from the 7th to the 12th century CE.It starts with a literal bang. The armies of Pulakeshin II of the Chalukyas and Harshavardhan Pushyabhuti of Kannauj are arrayed on either side of the Narmada river. The clash of cymbals, the sound of conches, the bellows of war elephants and clang of spears & swords all come through, loud and clearThe style of writing is unlike any historian I have ever come across. This is no dry compilation of events, dates and monuments. It goes right into the psyche of the people involved. The Kings, Emperors, generals, soldiers, et al are living, breathing, scheming, lusting individuals who have virtues as well as faults. This is not an account by a court bard, extolling and deifying his master for posterityIn conjunction with the Chalukyas, it elaborates on their interaction and clashes with the Pallavas, Rashtrakutas and the CholasThis makes for a virtual page-turner and also makes a case for how history should be taught. It's hard to believe that this is the debut book of an author, who I'm sure will go on to become a household word across India. Bravo!!!

Anirudh Kanisetti follows in the footsteps of modern history-tellers like William Dalrymple, writing powerfully about some of less known dynasties. He writes with flair and imagination - you will be drawn back to the book again and again, because of the vivid picture that he paints of a dynamic period when India was in a flux. This is perhaps history as it should have been taught in secondary schools, making it all come alive. The work is especially valuable because it deals with Deccan, an area which is as ignored by many of us as the South or the Northeast, perhaps mainly because of our obsession with the Mughal and the British periods.However, it is difficult to know which part of the book is history and which Aniruddh’s imagination. Though he warns you of this right in the beginning, he also promises that he will warn you whenever he gets off the narrow historical trail through the woods and goes off into the wilds of his imagination. This is a promise he doesn’t keep.He also starts off by saying that history shouldn’t be all about kings and emperors, and then proceeds to do precisely that. Yet again he says that he will not make comparisons between rulers or pass judgement - and then proceeds to do precisely that. Harshavardhan is repeatedly called a warlord, instead of the Emperor he is generally known as. In fact Aniruddh calls him just Harsha, leaving you to figure out on your own which Harsha is he talking about. He also mentions that Harsha appears in front of his warriors wearing a silk dhoti and a diaphanous upper garment, with gold stars to project his wealth. Wow. Really.Anirudh also projects back many of his own perceptions of today’s society onto the past. For instance, he tells us that when Pulakeshin II was born, Vatapi sent rare and expensive gifts to curry favour with his parents. Then Anirudh goes on to imagine and write about all kinds of rituals with a great amount of colour and imagination. This would be great as the script of a screenplay - but history?The book is printed nicely, type font is easy on the eyes, and it is great value as a book. It is a great read as a historical novel. But history it is not. Juggernaut shouldn’t really have classified this as ‘history’.