Demon As Devotee: A Universe of Detail in Hoysala Sculpture. Dr Parul Pandya Dhar. March 5, 2022


Hoysala sculptors are justly famous for the imaginative intricacy of their carvings. For instance, in the sculptures portraying ‘Ravana’s attempt to lift the mountain-abode of Shiva' at Belur and Halebidu, the sculptors have artfully concealed an entire universe of detail. By embellishing their compositions with a microcosm of significant sub-themes within the larger narrative frame, they have created a template that goes well beyond textual narrations of the divine-demonic encounter. In her illustrated talk, “Demon as Devotee: A Universe of Detail in Hoysala Sculpture, Dr. Parul Pandya Dhar identifies and interprets the complex textures of meaning that such a visualisation yields. About the Speaker: Parul Pandya Dhar is a Professor in the Department of History, University of Delhi. Her work engages with Indian art and architecture, art historiography, and connected histories of South and Southeast Asia. She has authored The Toraṇa in Indian and Southeast Asian Architecture (2010), edited The Multivalence of an Epic: Retelling the Ramayana in South India and Southeast Asia (2021) and Indian Art History: Changing Perspectives (2011), and co-edited Temple Architecture and Imagery of South and Southeast Asia (2016), Asian Encounters: Exploring Connected Histories (2014), and Cultural Interface of India with Asia (2004), besides contributing several research articles. She is currently writing on issues relating to connected histories of art across the Indian ocean and the arts of early medieval Deccan.

Atyantakaman: A Retrospective of the life, work and impact of Dr R Nagaswamy. Feb 20, 2022.


Dr. R Nagaswamy, internationally acclaimed archaeologist and Padma Bhushan awardee passed away recently. Though he is best known as an archaeologist and became famous for his role in the recovery of the Pattur Nataraja idol from England, he was a polymath - an epigrapher, a historian, a scholar in three languages, a connoisseur of arts, a poet and composer, a public intellectual, a teacher, and much more. At Tamil Heritage Trust (THT), we were privileged to have Dr. Nagaswamy's continuous guidance and encouragement for over a decade. He was the second-ever speaker at our events. In 2014, THT honored Dr. Nagaswamy with a five-day Pechu Kacheri, in which some of the most accomplished archaeologists he had trained spoke about his contributions in several fields. He was also a keynote speaker at many of our annual events. He unfailingly afforded us easy access to his infinite knowledge and insights. "Atyantakaman" is THT's tribute to Dr R Nagaswamy. Prof S Swaminathan, is a co-founder of THT with deep interest in a wide range of themes including Mamallapuram, Ajanta, Pudukottai, and much more. He will share his views on Dr. Nagaswamy's polymathic scholarship. Rangarathnam Gopu is an award-winning speaker, blogger, and writer on Indian heritage. He will deliver a talk covering some lesser-known aspects of Dr. Nagaswamy's contributions to society and culture. Citing personal anecdotes and quoting from some of his rarely known books and articles, he will aim to capture Dr. Nagaswamy's spirit of taking history and culture to the general public, free from the confines of academic seminars. Badri Seshadri, publisher and a co-founder of THT, will lead a discussion by a panel that includes two of Dr. Nagaswamy's proteges at the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology - Dr. Marxia Gandhi and Mr. K Sridaran, experts who have participated in extensive fieldwork in archaeology and epigraphy. Please "Subscribe" to this channel and click on the "Bell" icon to receive notifications of future programs.