My field of specialization is Prehistoric Archaeology & Rock Art. I took my masters in Ancient Indian History & Archaeology from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh and Master of Philosophy degree from University of Hyderabad. My Doctoral degree was awarded by the Telugu University, Hyderabad for a pioneering documentation, study and analysis of the Rock Art of Andhra Pradesh. Before joining Pondicherry University, I worked as Assistant Professor in the School of History, Culture and Archaeology, Telugu University, Hyderabad. I joined Pondicherry University in December 2006 as Reader and continuing as Professor since 2012. I was the founder member of the Rock Art Society of India; Life Member of Indian Society for Prehistoric & Quaternary Studies, (ISPQS), Pune, Folklore Society of South Indian languages (FOSSILS), Thiruvananthapuram and A.P. History Congress, Andhra Pradesh. I conducted extensive field explorations in various parts of Andhra Pradesh and discovered several Palaeolithic sites in the plateau regions of the Nallamalai hills and in the Coastal areas. As part of my doctoral research, I discovered several rock art sites in Andhra Pradesh, and studied the rock art complexes of South India and central India.

I participated in the excavations of a Neolithic site in Andhra Pradesh and myself conducted excavations in the sacred temple complex of Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh. I was the Director of a multi-disciplinary project to document the Rock Art of Andhra Pradesh, sponsored by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. I conducted a month-long exhibition of the Rock Art of India in Pondicherry University in 2013 and sensitised the school children about the important of the rock art data to understand the evolution of the visual art forms. I also completed a systematic documentation of the Sculptural art of the Srisailam temple complex, which brought to light some unknown facets of Tantric Iconography of the medieval India. I continued the study of the Tantric art in the temple complexes of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. In Pondicherry university, I organised 7 national and 3 international seminars and conferences. As the joint Secretary of the Historical Society of Pondicherry, I published the multi-lingual Proceeding Volume of the Centenary Conference which included papers in Tamil, French and English.

My publications include 5 books and 45 research papers. I delivered more than 40 invited lectures in various national and international seminars and regional history conferences and guided 25 M.A projects, 16 M.Phil. dissertations and 8 Ph.D. theses. I teach Indian Prehistory, Ancient Indian History, Medieval South Indian history, Epigraphy, Numismatics, Museology and Early Indian Religion. As the Head of the Department of history, I pioneered the signing of three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with three reputed academic organizations, which are offering internship to the B.A (hons) students that provide hands-on training archaeological exploration and excavation methods; Prehistoric stone tool making; photogrammetry, 3D image processing, study and analysis of ancient coinage; preservation and conservation of palm leaf manuscripts, research methods in history, research and publication ethics, study of temple architecture, identification of endogamous medicinal and vegetable plants, bio-diversity issues etc.

Prehistoric Archaeology, Rock Art and Ancient Indian History