Popular Reviews of Ithihasa India History Podcast

I am an inveterate podcast listener and consumer of all manners of shows. Am a huge fan of Dan Carlin's history podcasts like most people. The Itihasa podcast by Narendra Vikram tips it's hat to Carlin's style of narration and takes us deep into the history of the Vijayanagara kingdom. While most Indians, especially from the South are superficially aware of the greatness of Hampi, Vijayanagara, Krishna Deva Raya, we never studied about their empires and thrilling stories of their battles, palatial intrigue, valour, legacy and devotion like we did about the Mughals or other landmark empires of our past. Vikram's wonderfully produced and narrated show comes as a much needed corrective tp this and humanizes all the characters and their motivations from this glorious empire. It presents an unapologetically detailed picture of what made Vijayanagara great. History writing in India is extremely politicized and a minefield for the casual listener, even as experts keep bickering over facts, interpretations and narratives. Vikram takes on the onerous task of sorting this out for us and presents a very fair picture of not just our history but the historical method itself. For an informally trained historian, this is a huge achievement. This isn't to say Vikram is neutral or distant. He chips in with his own opinions when required but let's you know the reasons he agrees or disagrees with an expert he quotes. This is greatly appreciated and enhances not only the quality of the show but also the relationship of trust between narrator and listener. All in all, this is a super show. As Vikram says somewhere in one of the episodes, "We study our past to understand our present." And this show more than delivers on that promise. Listen in!

Well-deserved and amazingly accurate account of history. I congratulate you, Narendra. Thank you for enlightening us with the real history to a greater extent. Amazing work and pls do keep it up.