The Deccan region of peninsular India remains one of India's best kept secrets in spite of its numerous, impressive historical monument the rock-cut Buddhist shrines at Karla and Ajanta; the elegant carvings on the Hindu temples at Badami and Aihole; the magnificent ruins of the imperial city of Hampi-Vijayanagara; the imposing forts and tombs at Gulbarga, Bidar, Bijapur and Golconda; the elegant, European influenced palaces in Hyderabad. These and other monuments survive in a comparatively complete condition, but have until now been underappreciated. Deccan Heritage Foundation: Discovering the Deccan is published in association with the Deccan Heritage Foundation (DHF), newly founded in the UK and India to promote awareness of the cultural heritage within the living social context and surviving natural environment of the region. Too many of the sites showcased in this volume remain little known outside peninsular India. They are now threatened with neglect, and, even worse, misguided urban development and insensitive archeological restoration. The brilliant visual impact of the photographs is intended to draw attention to these and other problems of preserving this unique heritage, and to promote the efforts of the DHF in areas of research, education and, hopefully, in time, restoration.
About the Author: George Michell trained as an architect in Melbourne, and then obtained a PhD in Indian Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with a disstertation on Early Chalukya temple architecture. Since then he has been involved in research at numerous historical sites, including Hampi Vijayanagara, which, together with John M Fritz, he has extensively documented. Michell's recent publications are Mughal Architecture & Gardens (Shoestring, Mumbai), The Great Temple at Thanjavur (Marg, Mumbai) and Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal (Pictor, Mumbai). Helen Philon completed her PhD in Islamic Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with a dissertation on the Bahmani architecture of the Deccan. She was founder of the Islamic Department at the Museum Benaki Athens, Greece where she organised a number of exhibitions and publications. She completed her PhD on the religious and royal architecture of the Bahmanis of the Deccan at the School of Oriental and African Studies London. She is editor of Silent Splendour: Palaces of the Deccan (Marg, Mumbai) and author of Gulbarga, Bidar, Bijapur (Pictor, Mumbai). Surendra Kumar studied information technology in Bangalore, and now works part-time as a photographer, specialising in panoramic topographic views. His work has appeared in Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal (Pictor, Mumbai).