Opinion by Dr. K Paddayya

History writing experienced a see-saw change in postIndependent India. Political narratives gave way to commentaries onsocio-economic and cultural perspectives. Likewise, the Maurya and the Guptas were displaced by regional polities. The present work ofDr.Kameswara Rao on Vengi Nadu of the Godavari delta truly reflectsthis transformation in historical research in India. True to hisreputation as a senior scholar and teacher of history, Dr.Kameswara Rao has given us in this book a succinct and fascinating story ofthehistorical record of the Vengi country from the Stone Age to the Early Medieval period. Drawing upon evidence from both written and unwritten sources -- textual, epigraphical and numismatic, foreign accounts and archaeological excavations - he has given excellent and up-to-date accounts of the pivotal place which this deltaic tract of land on the east coast of India held in the political historyof the Deccan and of its contributions to socio-economic and cultural spheres. This book! is a valuable addition to the historical and heritage studies of Peninsular India in general and Telugu-speaking Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in particular. I am sureit will be widely welcomed by scholars and students alike.

K.Paddayya
Emeritus Professor and Former Director,
Deccan College (Deemed University), Pune.
Padma Shri Awardee.