3 Review(s)

With excellent imagery and lovely descriptions, Thanjavur: A Cultural History details the various aspects of Thanjavur and the things that make this place special. Summary Of The Book Thanjavur: A Cultural History covers a rich culture and the history of intricately carved monuments such as the Brihadeeswara Temple, which was built by the Chola King Raja Raja I, and the Saraswathi Mahal Library, which is located in the premises of the the Thanjavur Maratha Palace and has over 30,000 manuscripts in Indian and European languages jotted on palm leaves. The Saraswathi Mahal Library is also referred to as a treasure house by the authors, who then leads the readers through the narrow lanes or sandhus, which consist of the dwellings of painters. These are the painters who created the famous Thanjavur style of painting. The narrow lanes also house bangle sellers, perfumers, Devadasis and textile merchants. The book goes into detail about other unique elements of Thanjavur such as the museums, paintings, cuisine, frescoes, the abhyudayamus, the prabandhams, and the kuravanjis. Thanjavur: A Cultural History also talks about the rich history pertaining to the rulers of the past such as the Cholas, Marathas, Nayaks and the British. Then, the book also describes the fertile banks of the River Kaveri and praises Carnatic Music and Bharatanatyam, and discusses how the tradition of practicing these art forms are still continuing till today. All this along with the temples, palaces and beautiful bronze statues have been captured by the authors. The photographer and co-author of the book, Vikram Sathyanathan has also contributed beautiful images to accompany the engaging prose. About The Authors Pradeep Chakravarthy is an author and leadership trainer. His other books include A Road Less Travelled and Athigam Payanikkatha Paathai (Tamil). Born in Tirunelveli in 1975, the author completed his education from Madras, New Delhi and London. He works in an information technology company. and has published over one hundred articles in periodicals. He has written a number of articles on the Saraswathi Mahal Library. Chakravarty loves aquariums, listens to Carnatic music and is fond of gardening. He lives with his wife Anusha and son Raghavan in Chennai. Vikram Sathyanathan is a renowned photographer, entrepreneur and author. Born in 1976, he completed his MBA from Richmond College, United Kingdom. Sathyanathan manages his family business, which deals in chemical products. Besides photography, he also enjoys nature, wildlife conservation and writing. Vikram lives with wife Sandhyaa and son Prahlad.