21 January 2022, 05:00 pm
History and Heritage: The Afterlife of Monuments
Programme Type
Discussions, Webcasts

Temple Complexes of the Western Deccan: Beyond the Tangible-Intangible Divide

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Parul Pandya Dhar, Professor of Art History, Department of History, University of Delhi

Chair: Prof. (Sr) Anila Verghese, historian who has specialised in religious and art history of the Vijayanagara empire and city and former Principal, The Sophia College for Women,  Mumbai

The talk focuses on early medieval temple complexes at Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal in the Western Deccan. These magnificent monuments have been receiving worldwide recognition in recent decades and have also found a place in the UNESCO list of world heritage site. The talk draws from the speaker’s recent research to establish the importance of an approach wherein interpretations of ‘static’ monuments are ‘peopled’ or enlivened by exploring the motives, means, and methods that brought them into being and reaffirmed, transformed, or negated their presence from time to time.