Nachiket Chanchani is an Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the author in an exclusive chat on his new book Mountain Temples & Temple Mountains. Excerpts…

The name of the book is quite interesting. Can you shed some light on why the book was so named?

Nachiket Chanchani-My book traces how lithic architecture and the undulating landscape came to be entangled in the Central Himalayas and how the encounter remade both.

How much time did it take to do research, write, and publish this book?

Nachiket Chanchani- About ten years.

How many pilgrimages have you covered in the course of this book?

Nachiket Chanchani- Far too many to remember!

Can you throw some light on the architectural works of the temples in this region?

Nachiket Chanchani-Some medieval temples in the Central Himalayas were built in an archaicizing and austere regional style. Others were built in elaborate, au courant typologies imported from other parts of South Asia.

Do you think your book will provide readers with insight into the architectural works and how they changed the course of history?

Nachiket Chanchani- My book sheds new light on how the transmission of architectural knowledge shaped and reflected an evolving idea of India.

What is your next work?

Nachiket Chanchani- My slim book on the reception of the Amarushataka, the first collection of Sanskrit love poems, is currently in press. I’m currently immersed in a study on indigeneity and agency in the Brahmaputra Valley and am curating an exhibition on cultural heritage and post-genocide memory in Cambodia.