News and Updates

The second edition of our Deccani Studies Program is underway, taking a cohort of undergraduate students on a four-week field-based journey across sixteen remarkable sites in the Deccan. The itinerary unfolds both geographically and chronologically, bringing the region into sharper focus, site by site.

Follow along as we explore the Deccan’s remarkable, layered architectural and cultural complexity.

Banner image: Detail of murals at Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. Photograph by Sai Charan Palakurthi.

Reading the Deccan

Our journey began in Aurangabad, where we spent the first few days exploring the remarkable rock-cut landscapes of western Maharashtra under the guidance of Dr. Pia Brancaccio, Professor of Art History at Drexel University. Students were introduced to early Buddhist art and traced the evolution of the rock-cut caves of Ellora, Pitalkhora and Ajanta, experiencing firsthand how architecture, sculpture and painting transformed these caves into extraordinary places of worship and learning.

   Ellora Caves, Maharashtra. Photograph by Sai Charan Palakurthi.

Ajanta’s Painted World 

It’s one thing to see art in a book, quite another to see the immortal images of the Buddha in person as they emerge from the half light of the Ajanta caves. Time has obliterated so much of the detail, adding to their mystery.

Here are a few of the paintings we found particularly fascinating.

Wall murals at Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. Photograph by Sai Charan Palakurthi.

The spectacular murals at Ajanta, dating back to the 2nd century BCE, were discovered by chance in 1819, after which scholars tended to privilege the early Buddhist and Hindu caves in Maharashtra as sites worthy of investigation. Across the expansive walls and ceilings, around sculpted columns, remarkable compositions unfold, depicting numerous incidents from the life of the Buddha. The imagery transforms the caves into richly conceived Buddhist realms that place the image of the Buddha at their centre.

The Medieval Deccan

After exploring the rock-cut caves, the focus of the program then shifted to medieval Sultanate architecture under Dr. Pushkar Sohoni, who offered us a lens into the region’s changing political and cultural landscape. Through Daulatabad, Khuldabad, and Ahmadnagar, participants explored military architecture, urban shifts, and the political landscape of the Nizam Shahis and related Sultanates, connecting architecture to questions of empire, economy, and regional identity.

Dr. Sohoni is also the author of the DHF publication Aurangabad with Daulatabad, Khuldabad and Ahmadnagar, a companion guide to the region’s monuments, available through the DHF Bookstore.

Garden walkway at Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Photograph by Clare Arni and Selvaprakash Lakshmanan.

Daulatabad Fort, Maharashtra. Photograph by Sai Charan Palakurthi.

Further south, Bijapur’s Adil Shahi monuments revealed the courtly culture and Indo-Persian artistic traditions that shaped the Deccan. The journey moved on to Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Hampi, ending with Shravanabelagola, after which students are invited to join an active DHF restoration project at the 125-year-old Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion on the campus of the University of Mysore. Here, they will gain first-hand insight into the many disciplines involved in heritage conservation while seeing how the DHF, working with the University of Mysore, is helping safeguard a significant historic campus.

 Travel through the Deccan

Across the region, slow travel brings a shift in perspective, where details that might otherwise go unnoticed reveal a beautiful relationship between places, reflective of new beliefs taking root and earlier traditions reimagined.

We hope this inspires you to explore these places yourself. Our series of travel guidebooks brings together leading historians, detailed itineraries and practical guidance for discovering the architectural heritage of the Deccan.

Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Photograph by Sai Charan Palakurthi.

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.