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by Indian and foreign elements times out of number have greatly distorted the life and history of these people; civil wars have added their mite to make historical analysis still more difficult; and added to all these the absence of dependable source-materials has forced most historians out of their patience and vexed them beyond a point of endurance. Much labour and deep study alone would bear fruit under these difficult circumstances.
Prof. Avvai Duraiswamy Pillai’s enduring scholarship and his indefatigable researches have made the dead past live again in the pages of this book. The History of the Chera Kings which these pages portray is related in fascinating detail and in chaste Tamil. The Chera Kings become living personalities in the midst of their numerous subjects. Their enemies and friends, their problems and aspirations, their successes and failures and above all, the forces and factors that made them or unmade them find an indispensable place in this volume. The names of forgotten places and persons sunk in utter oblivion are brought back to memory in vividness and freshness. Obscurity takes flesh and blood and moves in dignity as personality with a touch of humanity and majesty. The ancient Karala History unfolds itself in these pages as if on a cinema screen. Historical research owes a debt of gratitude to the Author for undertaking this difficult piece of research with consummate ability and skilful presentation.
