It is well known from history that even from a hoary past young princes used to approach men of great learning living in secluded places and leading simple life, for their education even undergoing hardship of real life. And kings down to the regional chieftains used to patronize great scholars and honored them profusely. The society too did identify people of merit and honor them appropriately.
Nowadays, in the academic circles, there is a novel way of expressing their whole-hearted admiration to scholars of distinction by dedicating in his/her honor their never diminishing or withering fragrant bunches of invaluable studies in the form of a sustaining reference volume immensely useful to both scholars and people. Is there any other better way of displaying their tribute to distinguished scholars? All other forms or modes of honor will within a short time fade away but this form of dedication remain for long reaching advantageously the innumerable. Sri A. Sandarac, born in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) in a traditional family hailed from a small village Neelavara, a prominent sacred place of the goddess Sri Mahishasura Mardini near Udupi celebrated for Sri Krishna temple. After having his primary to intermediate (i.e. pre-University) education in Bhadravati and Shivamogga considers himself to be the most fortunate for having the opportunity of studying particularly under the most eminent historian of south India, Sri K.A. Nilakantha Sastry, as well as professors; Dr. M. Seshadri, a leading pre-historian, Sri S. Ramachandra Rao, Sri Yamunacharya, well-known Sanskritists. After joining the Archaeological Survey of India he had excellent training in archaeological exploration and excavation, Temple Architecture and Iconography again under the well-known archaeologists:
Sarva Sri. M.N. Deshpande, K.R. Srinivasan, Krishna Deva, K.y. Soundara Rajan, YD. Sharma, S.R. Rao, each one a doyen of learning in their respective fields of studies. Another great archaeologist Dr. H.D. Sankalia was his Ph.D. Research Guide in the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Paone, a foremost centre for Archaeology. Sundara with overwhelming feelings of gratitude remembers all these great men of scholarship including some of his teachers totally dedicated to their profession from the primary to intermediate particularly Sarva Sri Nanjunda Sastry, Venkata Ramana Sastry, R. Ananta Ramu, as well as Sri C.S. Narayana Rao but for whose help he would never have been what he is today and shaped his personality. With their affectionate guidance and training all through his career, it is but natural that he has been able to do some solid work of originality in the field of Archaeology advancing our knowledge in certain areas.
His village to village survey of archaeological and historical remains, active role in archaeological excavations in the Archaeological Survey of India and also in the Kamatak University for decades helped him in the publication of more than 250 research papers and some 10 books of a high standard relating to Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age Megalithic and Early Historical Cultures, Rock art, Temples-and Sculptures and on Inscriptions. A review of his study and research indicate some distinct, substantial and new contributions in the concerned areas relating to the Krishna valley including her tributaries: the Bhima and the Ghataprabha-Malaprabha and the Tungabhadra. This region is well known is historically as the most potential with the major political centres: Hindu and Islamic, through the ages right from the Asokan whose Minor and also Major rock edicts are found at several places and at Sannati (Kalburgi dot., Karnataka), respectively, down to the end of Vijayanagara and the contemporary Sultanates of the Deccan.
As a result the above said region proved to be a gateway for the prolific transmission of the cultures between the north' and south. That this to and fro cultural flow did not start all of a sudden from the Asokan time, but from a remote past is proved archaeologically by some Archaeologists of whom the most prominent are Sundara and Dr. Paddayya. While the latter has persistently concentrated on the Paleolithic cultures in the middle Krishna and has been carrying out invaluable in depth study for many years, the former has traced densely numerous Neolithic- Chalcolithic and the Early Iron Age Megalithic material cultural sites in a much wider area.
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