Irreverent History: Essays for M.G.S. Narayanan

by Donald R. Davis. Jr., Kesavan Veluthat

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Irreverent History brings together essays in honour of Professor M.G.S. Narayanan, a historian who brought about a veritable shift in the paradigm of historiography in Kerala. As much of his work has been on the history of Kerala, the bulk of writing here is on the history and culture of that state. He has, however, made lasting contributions to other areas of Indian history and epigraphy and hence, another section of this volume is devoted to epigraphy and connected history.

Following Narayanan’s own interests, contributions to this colume explore first the history and culture of Kerala. A second section is then devoted to epigraphy and connected history. The colume is more than an homage to a groundbreaking scholar; It is also a monument to the influence of Professor Narayanan’s ideas and work. It exploores a wide range of topics from political myth, regional authority, traditional theatre, and religious ritual in kerala to scribal cultures, caste histories, material exchange, and forms of political expression in India and beyond.

The volume will be useful for students of Indian history, especially those who seek to understand the nuances that have shaped what is today called ‘God’s Own Country.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Donald R. Davis. Jr.

Donald R. Davis. Jr. is Associate Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religious at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary research focuses on the history of law and religion in India, particularly Hindu law. He is the author of The Boundaries of Hindu Law. While engaged in his field research, Davis worked with M.G.S. Narayanan for two years in Kozhikode.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kesavan Veluthat

Kesavan Veluthat is currently Professor of History at the University of Delhi. He studied at the University of Calicut where M.G.S. Narayanan was his mentor. In 1982, he joined the newly formed Mangalore University and retired from there as Professor and Vhair of the Department of History. He has also edited the mahishasatakam (Sanskrit) and the Dictionarium Latino-Hystorico-Mythologico-Samscredonico, Malabaricum (Latin).