News and Updates

Jami Masjid, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Photograph by Surendra Kumar.

As we move into the second half of the year, the Deccan Heritage Foundation is preparing for several exciting initiatives across the region.

                                       Travel with the DHF

In partnership with Evolve Back Resorts, we are pleased to announce our forthcoming guidebook on the historic city of Mandu in Madhya Pradesh. The former capital of the Malwa Sultanate, Mandu is perched dramatically on an elevated plateau overlooking the Narmada River and preserves fortifications and gateways, mosques and tombs, palaces and pleasure pavilions, tanks and stepwells set within a spectacular landscape of forested hills and ravines.

Authored by Michael Brand, Pushkar Sohoni and Helen Philon, this will be the DHF’s sixteenth guidebook and will explore Mandu’s turbulent political history, vibrant courtly culture and extraordinary architectural heritage, serving as an essential companion for visitors to the area. As always, photographs are by Surendra Kumar.

Take a look at some of them from our first research trip last month.

Malik Mugith Mosque & Hoshang Shah’s tomb, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Photographs by      Surendra Kumar.

Dai ka Mahal, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Photographs by Surendra Kumar.

Looking Ahead in Gadag, Karnataka

Before/After Nagakunda Stepwell, Sudi. Photograph by Surendra Kumar.

Our recent projects have taken us to the Gadag district of Karnataka, home to some of the finest surviving monuments of the Kalyana Chalukyas. With support from the Government of Karnataka, we completed the restoration of the 1,000-year-old Nagakunda Stepwell at Sudi, with generous funding from the Gandipet Welfare Society — a zero-waste non-government organisation — together with Heritage Matters and the Water Literacy Foundation. We also published a travel guidebook for the region, Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi, in both English and Kannada.

Inspired by the project, local residents have begun bringing forward historic objects and architectural fragments connected to the region’s past. We are now developing plans for an open-air museum in Lakkundi that will display these artefacts while creating new opportunities for education, interpretation and cultural tourism across the region.

Discover Chalukya Splendours

  The Next Generation of Deccan Scholars

We are delighted to share that we successfully reached our scholarship fundraising goal for the 2026 Deccani Studies Program, which builds on the success of last year’s pilot. In partnership with Ashoka University and the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation (HBSF), this intensive month-long academic program edition brings together an expanded faculty, new field sites and an even stronger framework for interdisciplinary learning.

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the scholarship fund. Their generosity will enable students facing financial constraints to participate in what is often a transformative educational experience.

Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad. Photograph by Clare Arni & Selvaprakash Lakshmanan.

The course begins on 15 July in Aurangabad, where participants will explore the rich intersections between Buddhist, Sultanate and later Deccani traditions before entering the remarkable rock-cut landscapes of western India. Over fifteen days, students will journey across Maharashtra and Karnataka, tracing the Buddhist, Sultanate, Chalukyan, Vijayanagara, Jain and Adil Shahi legacies of the Deccan.

Rock-cut cistern, Kanheri. Photograph by Surendra Kumar.

Combining site visits, on-site lectures, workshops and hands-on conservation training, the program introduces participants to the architectural, artistic and cultural histories of the Deccan through direct engagement with monuments, landscapes and living traditions.

Create your own itinerary through the Deccan with our travel guidebooks and curated itineraries, developed by our co-founders, George Michell and Helen Philon, alongside leading historians.

Thank you for your continued engagement with the DHF. We look forward to bringing you the latest updates about our ongoing projects, initiatives and publications across the Deccan region of India.

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