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Deccan Heritage Foundation

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Deccan Heritage Foundation

The Deccan Heritage Foundation is a charitable organisation that works to preserve, restore and a pr

17/06/2026

In Chalukya times, the small town of Sudi was an important centre of trade and home to a royal mint, while nearby Savadi preserves some of the finest surviving examples of Chalukya sculpture and architecture.

Swipe for more and discover the region in our new travel guidebook, ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’. The book has been written by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti, with photographs by Surendra Kumar - available now via the DHF Online Bookstore at the link in our bio.

[Kalyana Chalukya, Temple Architecture, Heritage Conservation, Baoli, Incredible India]

11/06/2026

The village of Itagi preserves one of the most celebrated monuments of the Late Chalukya period. An inscribed slab records that the Mahadeva Temple was built in 1112 by Mahadeva, a powerful general (dandanayaka) during the reign of Vikramaditya VI, and dedicated to Shiva under his own name.

The patron proudly described the monument as a “devalaya-chakravarti” or an emperor among temples.

Featured in our new book ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’.Published by Jaico in collaboration with the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the guidebook is authored by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti, with a preface by H.K. Patil and photographs by Surendra Kumar.

Now available in paperback and e-book editions through the DHF Online Bookstore. Link in bio.

[Chalukya Dynasty, Indian History, Temple Architecture, Karnataka, Incredible India]

10/06/2026

With around fifty Late Chalukya temples, together with stepwells and a spectacular stepped tank, Lakkundi remains one of the most important architectural centres of the medieval Deccan.

Most surviving monuments date from the 11th century, a period marked by major technical and artistic innovation. The transition from sandstone to chloritic schist allowed for polished surfaces, sharp-edged mouldings and increasingly intricate carved detail that would come to define the Chalukya architectural style.

Featured in our new book ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’.Published by Jaico in collaboration with the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the guidebook is authored by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti, with a preface by H.K. Patil and photographs by Surendra Kumar.

Now available in paperback and e-book editions through the DHF Online Bookstore. Link in bio.

[Chalukya Dynasty, Indian History, Temple Architecture, Karnataka, Incredible India]

06/06/2026

From the temple complexes of Gadag and Annigeri to the remarkable star-shaped shrines of Dambal, this region preserves some of the finest examples of Later Chalukya architecture in northern Karnataka.

Featured in ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’, these monuments reveal a period of extraordinary artistic and architectural innovation in the Deccan during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Published by Jaico in collaboration with the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the guidebook is authored by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti, with a preface by H.K. Patil and photographs by Surendra Kumar.

Now available in paperback and e-book editions through the DHF Online Bookstore. Link in bio.

04/06/2026

Across what is now the northern part of Karnataka, the Chalukyas left behind a remarkable architectural landscape of temples, stepwells and sacred sites at Gadag, Lakkundi, Sudi, Dambal, Itagi and beyond. These monuments capture a moment of extraordinary experimentation in the Deccan, bridging the earlier traditions of Badami and Pattadakal with the later worlds of the Hoysalas and Vijayanagara.

These sites are explored in our latest guidebook ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’, authored by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti with photographs by Surendra Kumar and published by JAICO. Now available as a paperback and e-book for instant download to your smartphone or tablet via the DHF Bookstore.

[Chalukya Dynasty, Indian History, Temple Architecture, Karnataka, Incredible India]

26/05/2026

NEW PUBLICATION: Explore a lesser-known landscape of the former Rashtrakuta empire, where the Later Chalukyas left behind a remarkable architectural legacy of temples, stepwells and sacred sites across northern Karnataka in our latest guidebook, ‘Chalukya Splendours: In and around Gadag and Lakkundi’ - now available in paperback and e-book editions via the DHF Online Bookstore. Link in bio.

Published by Jaico in collaboration with the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the book is authored by Amita Kanekar and Anirudh Kanisetti, with a preface by H.K. Patil and photographs by Surendra Kumar. The publication was developed with support from the Government of Karnataka, Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage.

[Rashtrakuta Empire, Karnataka Heritage, Temple Architecture, Stepwells, Deccan Heritage, Sacred Sites, Medieval India, Indian Architecture, Gadag, Lakkundi, Architectural History, Cultural Heritage]

20/05/2026

Inside the Conservation Lab at the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, Mysuru

From surface cleaning to multispectral imaging, the conservation of this Somana Kunitha mask reveals the layered histories held within ritual objects.

Practiced across parts of Karnataka, Somana Kunitha is a traditional folk performance associated with the worship of village deities and guardian spirits. The masks are typically in vivid reds and yellows, but rarer green and black variants also form part of a rich visual and ritual language.

Through conservation and imaging, details long obscured by age gradually re-emerge, offering new insight into the object’s material history and making process.

[Somana Kunitha, Art Conservation, Karnataka Heritage, Ritual Masks, Cultural Preservation]

15/05/2026

Signed, limited-edition photographs of Hampi by award-winning Australian architectural photographer John Gollings — now available through the DHF Online Print Shop.

Drawn from City of Victory: Hampi Vijayanagara by John M. Fritz and George Michell, the photographs capture the monumental landscapes of Vijayanagara across four decades.

Explore the collection via the link in bio.

28/04/2026

Replenished waters at the ancient Nagakunda Stepwell, Sudi, Karnataka.

Recently restored by the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the Nagakunda Stepwell is once again a functional water source. This restoration project not only helped preserve a significant monument but also restore a living resource, contributing to the local hydrological system and community use, with continued stewardship by the zero-waste NGO, gandipet_welfare_society.

Open to visitors, the site offers a rare opportunity to experience a working stepwell within the historical landscape of Sudi.

[Ancient Stepwell, Kalyani Chalukya Dynasty, Heritage Conservation, Heritage Management, Baoli]

27/04/2026

Deccani Studies Program | Accepting applications till May 9 2026

Following our inaugural edition of the Deccani Studies Program with Ashoka University, the DHF is now inviting applications for the 2026 cohort from undergraduate students across India.
From Ajanta and Ellora to Bijapur, Hampi, Lakkundi and beyond, the program brings together site visits, expert-led lectures, and hands-on conservation experience at our ongoing project, in Mysuru.

Write to [email protected].
Scholarships are available for eligible students.
Learn more via the link in bio.

This program has been created by the DHF in collaboration with the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation (HBSF) and Ashoka University.

[Heritage Conservation, Heritage Management, Architectural History, Temple Architecture]

Address

Badami
587 201

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 6pm
Thursday	9:30am - 6pm
Friday	9:30am - 6pm

Website

http://www.deccan-heritage-foundation.org/

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