Modern South India

The sounds and flavours of the land south of the Vindhyas—temple bells, coffee and jasmine, coconut and tamarind, delicious dosais and appams—are familiar to many, but its history is relatively unknown. In this monumental study, the first in over fifty years, historian and biographer Rajmohan Gandhi brings us the South Indian story in modern times. At heart, the story he tells is one of four powerful cultures—Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, as well as the cultures—Kodava, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Tulu and indigenous—that have influenced them.