I hope, by now, this book has been acquired by all libraries as it is an important contribution to the study of Indian literature. The essays throw open debates that lead forward to more investigation into the rich mine of the histories of literature produced in the important languages of India. As always, the Sahitya Akademi must be lauded for its valiant effort towards the scrutiny and documentation of dense and difficult material, and the Editor and the contributors for their knowledge, skill, and above all, dedicated intellectual labour.
The volume originates from a conference on the subject organized by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, held at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, on 28-29 September 2015. However, the Editor had the insight of inviting other essays also in order to ‘ensure a fuller and more balanced representation of the various Indian languages’.