I have just finished reading 'Lords of the Deccan : Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas', a work of popular history dealing with the early medieval ages of Deccan. Of late, there has been an enhanced and nuanced way of approaching Deccan's brilliant past, a ceaseless, compelling clamor that the past narrative of Deccan be given it's due. The Lords of the Deccan offers an exhilarating perspective into South India and Deccan's rivalries, artistic and militaristic, that shaped India from 600s CE to 1000s CE.
The author rightly bemoans the existence of very few reliable historical sources (viz, glossy Prasasthis, lack of large scale archeological excavations at Basava Kalyan, Manyakheta), yet enthralls us with the tales surrounding the rise, fall and re-rise of the Sri-Parvatha Vallabhas of Vatapi / Manyakheta. The book is diligently divided into three parts - Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas and finally - Western Chalukyas and their rivalry with Cholas. Yet it is not just a chronological white washed eulogy of Kings and King makers. The themes discussed viz, Sanskrit Cosmpolis, temples and sects as institutions, powers of merchant guilds, symbolism of banners and icons, the sea bound trade routes of Indian ocean, development of regional literature etc offers an interesting insight into the lives and times of Medieval Deccan.
Indian History is not just about the primacy of few places (Gangetic plains) or dynasties (Maurya, Gupta, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal). As the author rightly points, the immenisty of medieval sourth India still looms over us, demanding that we coninue to tell its stories, and learn from its horrors and glories.
Book (English) - 'Lords of the Deccan : Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas' by Anirudh Kanisetty - Juggernaut Books
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