Anirudh Kanisetti is a public historian, columnist and speaker specialising in ancient and early medieval India. He is the author of Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire (Juggernaut, 2025); and Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas (Juggernaut, 2022). He writes the popular Thinking Medieval column for ThePrint and hosts three podcasts: Echoes of India: A History Podcast, YUDDHA: The Indian Military History Podcast, and The Altar of Time: A History of India's Christian Art. He is currently Honorary Fellow at the Deccan Heritage Foundation.

Anirudh has won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, the Ramnath Goenka Sahitya Samman, and Tata Literature Live's Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award. He was an Open Mind of 2022, and on the New Indian Express' 40 Under 40. Anirudh was formerly Editor at the MAP Academy, where he worked on the Encyclopedia of Indian Art. Prior to this, he was Associate Fellow at the Takshashila Institution. His work has received grants from Princeton University, MAP Academy and the India Foundation for the Arts.

 

Anirudh's work has covered a variety of areas, from history to networked societies and technology governance, and his writings have been published in Mint, The Deccan Herald, The New Indian Express, Open, and other prestigious publications. He is an alumnus of BITS Pilani Goa, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree with a minor in philosophy, economics and politics.

 

Anirudh is represented by David Godwin Associates for literary engagements. For speaking engagements, lectures, and other collaborations, he can be reached below.