Thanjavur A Cultural History]

'we must explore our own country first' was a phrase that was starting to sound a bit tired with all the use it was getting. nothing much was done about it though.

then came pradeep's and vikram's book 'thanjavur,' a fascinating journey of a city that was so close, yet had never really caught the imagination.

with pradeep's and vikram's help, this january my family and i planned out a road trip that took us to thanjavur, kumbakonam and swamimalai and opened our eyes to the treasures in our own backyard... without them, and this book, the trip would not have happened, at least not now.

thank you both. you've managed to capture the imagination and bring thanjavur alive in a way that no guide book or history book could have done.

mny more cities, many more cultural explorations, many more journeys please.

Thanjavur a Cultural History brings to light quite a few untold accounts of the fascinating cultural aspects of Thanjavur. The compilation of the street/lane names of Old town Thanjavur is brilliant! Shows how well and how deep the author has researched for this treatise. Having spent my first 23 years in Thanjavur, I myself was unaware about a few things mentioned in this book!!
As a person whose family has got very strong cultural and emotional links with Thanjavur, congrats and heartfelt thanks to Pradeep for bringing out such a book!
The photographs in the book definitely need a mention; especially the Brihadeeswara temple on the outer wrapper of the book! I have never seen the Big temple with such an azure sky as background in reality...

Kudos to Pradeep Chakravarthy!

A must buy for all Tanjoreans:-)

A must read for lovers of history, art and culture. Hats off to the amount of research the author has put in and the collection of rare photos you get to see in the book. Reading this books gave me a close encounter into the past of thanjavur, felt like seeing a period film. Though thanjavur is my native i hardly even 10 percent of info this book provides. Worth every rupee u spend on this book.

The book is a real treasure - the text sparkles and the pictures are stunning. Since my family (my father's side) hails from the region, there was much nostalgia, and 'ohhh, we have this Thanjavur painting at home, look, look' and I had to leave my copy behind - its now on display at my mother's house! Can't recommend this book enough - a must-buy, especially if you hail from the region.

This book is a Wonderful.It emphasis on the continuous thread of culture , Arts and History which connects the city for the past 1000 years or so.Being a Tanjorean by birth , I never knew that the Art has such a nice story behind it.Pradeep had made a great research on these and put the stories together for reader's pleasure.