A History of South India for Children: From Prehistory to Vijayanagara: If You Care About South India – this book is a must read!
I have just published my 10th book on history and completed my 78th heritage tour. What keeps me going? Certainly not the money but a sense of reconnecting with the happiest part of my childhood – summer vacations in a 10,000 sq. ft home in Palayamkottai that has been in our family for 6 generations!
Pouring over a 5000 sq ft attic filled with relics of all sorts – old clothes, newspapers to furniture and discarded lamps, and an old pankah wheel on the door lintel, the trips were magical. Sunday visits to temples spread over multiple acres with no one but me and a priest and the lip-smacking food made heritage a wholesome experience.
What I learnt in school about history was a total contrast, we learnt nothing about south India, not even about my own city of residence – Madras. Even as a child I wanted to set this right. My career in HR at TVS, Infosys, Cognizant and McKinsey gave me opportunities to write on how history is relevant for our lives. Human nature does not change and if we approach history from that angle, the lessons of history are timeless.
During the lockdown, I did a series of online classes for children on aspects of south Indian history they will never learn in school and the response was so overwhelming, it gave me the impetus to write a book.
A History of South India for Children: From Prehistory to Vijayanagara was published by Hachette in Jan 2024. The book is not just for children but adults too! The chapters are short and move quickly and cover all the 5 states of the south from prehistoric times. The Kings and queens chapter looks at how different kings administered their provinces. The chapter on food deals with ancient references to food and drink and how international it was even in the past. Wars and weapons focus on how armies were organised and accounts of battles. Crime and punishment deals with the many rules and regulations and the philosophy behind the justice system of those days. The chapter on Religion explains in simple, unbiased terms the major religions of south India and their interaction with each other since ancient times. The region is famous for the temples and the Temple secrets chapters will help parents and children help explain and understand what to see in a temple and in any work of art. South India was the world's biggest producer of luxury goods 2000 years ago and has since then had many traders from across the world traversing its coasts. The Traders and money chapter looks at this rich history. The chapters on Language and literature and that on Music, dance and drama focus on the arts and words the region is famous for including those in danger of being forgotten. The chapter on Science and Technology recounts ancient knowledge systems in this region on Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths etc.
My hope is the book instills a sense of awareness and pride among anyone who has a connection to South India and encourages them to see the important sights in the region and someday help to improve the region in whatever way they can. Here is an extract from the book –
GEOGRAPHY DETERMINES HISTORY
Where we live influences how we live. Much more than it does now, in the past, the geography of a region shaped the economic conditions and lifestyle of the people that inhabited it. For instance, mountains became defenses and barriers for travel, and prevented the sharing of information. Rivers determined the amount of food production and, therefore, the prosperity of a place. Rivers connected to the sea and were pathways to seaports. Lands that were not fertile, such as rocky areas that could not have much agriculture, or areas with less water, tended to have kingdoms that sparred over precious food and water. Therefore, these regions had smaller kingdoms and were often at war with each other. The Pandyas of Tamil Nadu are an example of this.
The Pandyas ruled a stretch of land (in present- day Tamil Nadu), which had only two main rivers, one of which had little water. The land was also in the rain-shadow region of the Western Ghats and received relatively less rain. Although they developed excellent systems of rainwater conservation, the smaller chiefs fought more viciously than most to resist subjugation. Once could assume that this was so since they had to work harder to secure the bare minimum of the scarce resources at their disposal.
Kingdoms that had control over a river and were able to harness the water for agriculture, were more prosperous. Owing to this, they had money to pay for a larger fleet of soldiers. One could say they were also more inclined to expand their empires through battles. The Cholas, who controlled the river Kaveri, or the Chalukyas, who held sway over the river Malaprabha, are classic examples of this.
However, this is not a one-size-fits-all formula! For instance, kingdoms that were located in present-day Kerala had many rivers, over 44 of them. Rivers, such as the Periyar and Pamba, have multiple tributaries, which are in turn fed by smaller streams. However, the large number of rivers and dense forests made it hard for big armies to move fast, so the region saw many smaller kingdoms, such as Trippappooru Swaroopam, Perumpadappu Swaroopam, Nediyiruppu Swaroopam and Kola Swaroopam, fighting each other, with very few being able to conquer significant parts of Kerala.
About the Author
Pradeep Chakravarthy has a PhD in History. After a long career in HR with McKinsey and others, he is fully devoted to a series of activities that make history relevant for children. He also runs immersive tours for children in Anantya in the Village at Alwar Tirunagari.
For more information, visit –
https://www.pradeepchakravarthy.com/
https://anantyaresorts.com/village/
To buy the book - https://a.co/d/9CU6jno
