The Kohinoor diamond was once the eye of a Kakatiya deity. The Pandyas are counted among the world's longest ruling dynasties. Sanskrit poets spun mesmerizing verse that could be read in reverse too. Tantalizing Malabar spices flavoured the most lavish ancient Roman banquets. Make your way across south India, exploring its kaleidoscopic past and dazzling heritage, right from its first inhabitants up to the Vijayanagara Empire. Meet its royalty and courtiers, builders and sculptors, poets and authors, traders and merchants, spiritual leaders and devotees, and all the other people who went to make it a top destination of the time. Separated from the north by the Vindhya mountains and surrounded on three sides by water, southern India developed its own unique features ? with outstanding rulers, incredible literature, spellbinding architecture, stunning dance forms and delicious food.