News and Updates

Shivatirtha Tank, Ellora, Maharashtra. Photo by Selvaprakashan Lakshman

This month’s newsletter from the Deccan Heritage Foundation brings you exciting updates from our restoration sites and cultural initiatives — including a special guest contribution by historian and DHF Fellow Anirudh Kanisetti on some of the incredible wall paintings of the Rashtrakuta Empire in Ellora’s rock-cut caves in Maharashtra. 

Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, Mysuru

The conservation team treating a Buta sculpture from the museum collection of Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, Mysuru, Karnataka

We are thrilled to share that Ashish and Manisha Dhawan of the Aikyam Foundation are generously supporting the creation of a new Department of Restoration and Photography at the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion. Housed in the East Wing, the upcoming “Manisha Dhawan Learning Centre for Conservation” will be a pioneering facility dedicated to the scientific study and conservation of India’s artistic and cultural heritage. In addition to restoring the mansion’s collections, the Centre will serve as a state-of-the-art hub for research, education, field projects, and training in art, archaeology, conservation, and heritage studies.

The Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion has also been in the news recently, with coverage in both The Hindu and Deccan Herald, highlighting the significance of the ongoing restoration and its role in preserving Mysuru’s cultural heritage.

Removal of the top layer of stones in progress at Sudi, Karnataka

The restoration team in Sudi has begun removing the top layer of stones from the Nagakunda stepwell to access and replace a recently added second layer. Both layers will be reset to improve structural stability and historical accuracy. A custom stone lifter—built with pipes from Hubli and a trestle made in the on-site workshop—has been set up to aid the process.

This project is supported by Mrs. Rajashree Pinnamaneni, in memory of Dr. Subba Rao Devineni.

The Lingodbhava Mural at the Ganesh Lena group, Ellora. Shiva emerges from a blue column of light at the centre, worshipped by Brahma (left) and Vishnu (right). Photo by Anirudh Kanisetti 

The DHF is proud to be launching a series of monthly guest essays by DHF Fellow Anirudh Kanisetti. In May, Anirudh explores the “lost murals” of Ellora—the spectacular, rock-cut cave complex near Aurangabad whose 34 shrines (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain) were excavated between the 6th and 10th centuries CE and crowned by the Rashtrakuta-era Kailasanatha temple. While Ellora is famous for sculpture, Anirudh shines a light on its fragile ceiling paintings, revealing how a single panel of the Lingodbhava legend links Deccan patrons to far-flung trade routes and the world’s most coveted blue pigments.

“The Lingodbhava mural depicts Shiva’s cosmic pillar gleaming a radiant, exceedingly expensive blue—possibly lapis lazuli or cobalt. If it is cobalt, it shows Rashtrakuta taste in conversation with Arab and Tang Chinese ceramics; if lapis, it proves that, even amid 8th-century turmoil, traders still carried Afghan minerals deep into the Deccan.”

Read the full essay here.

We look forward to bringing you more news, project updates and insights from the sprawling Deccan region. Visit the DHF Bookstore to explore our collection of travel guidebooks. To support the DHF’s various restoration and conservation efforts, consider making a donation by clicking the button below.

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