Invaluable Historical Handbooks

The Domesday Book (1086) is one of the most famous documents in English history. It was compiled towards the end of William the Conquerer's life, after the Norman Conquest of England, when he commissioned surveyors to travel the length & breadth of the country, itemising the 'possessions of each of the magnates, their lands, their habitations, their men.' Few countries have an equivalent historical resource. (From "The Penguin Classics Book" by Henry Eliot.) It's usefulness & relevance can be gauged by the fact that it is still in print.

Sri. D. V. Gundappa (DVG) compiled a "Mysore  Mirror" for the year 1915. It was first prepared in English & later translated into Kannada. He writes in the preface that necessary development activities cannot be undertaken without first having an exact picture of the present. This is presented in the table of contents listing the geographical area, climate, flora & fauna, minerals, population (with various types of break-up), religions, language, history, livelihoods, industries, trade, education, government (including legislative, executive & judiciary) & detailed, meticulous, quantitative presentation of the above. It gives an exact objective picture of the state on that year & is an invaluable source book. This occupies 130 pages in the last section of the last of the 11 volumes of DVG's complete works in Kannada.