A Brief Sketch of Travancore : The Model State of India

About The Book : The Author have gathered during a long period of unremitting devotion to the study of the country, its people, its history and its Government. The following extract from the Madras Mail explains the scope and object of the book The book begins by discussing the natural features and the topography of the State, and dwells on the special features of its fauna, and flora. Then the early races of Tra vancore are traced to the various stages of their advent, and next come chapters devoted to the Nayars, the Numbudris and the Dravida Brahmins, which three classes comprise the mass of the population in the Malayalam language and literature are lightly touched on in a short chapter, which is' followed by an account of the principal religious temples and worship in vogue in the State, special mention being made of the catholic spirit which dominates the Government of His Highness the Maharajah in all matters pertaining to religion. Under the Section Progress a historical retrospect is given of Travancore and its ruling House and a succinct account of the economic progress made by the State during the times of the earlier and the later Rajahs. The chapter on the Poli tical Relations with the paramount power is a clear state ment of the circumstances under which the ruling House of Travancore came into relationship with the British. About The Author : S. Ramanatha Aiyar, F. S. Sc., London, was an extremely talented writer of history, prose and poetry, in both, English and Malayalam, and a close friend of HH Maharaja Moolam Thirunal, as well as that of the Resident. This particular book is an extremely balanced history of one of the most progressive (if not the most progressive) Princely States of India. A grand daughter of Queen Victoria, Lady Tichbourne, impressed by Mr. Aiyar's high level of erudition and solid grasp of History, had invited him to be the Assistant or Deputy Curator of the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay, a position of some gravity in those days (1903), which he regretfully declined, as his ageing mother did not wish to leave Trivandrum. His grandfather, Raya Raya Rao S. Srinivasa Aiyar, was the celebrated court poet and singer of Travancore in the early 19th Century. Mr. Aiyar was an extremely prolific writer.