A Dance Set in Stone
Design Interventions for Documenting Ramappa Temple and Perini Natyam.
Duration: JAN- MAY 2025
Internship at the Design Innovation Centre, IIT Hyderabad
Overview
Built in 1213 CE by the Kakatiya dynasty, Ramappa Temple is known for its expressive dance sculptures and refined stonework. During my internship at the Design Innovation Centre, IIT Hyderabad, I contributed to their efforts to create a detailed visual archive of the temple using photogrammetry. This documentation became the foundation for a research-led book that records the sculptures and reflects on their place in Telangana’s evolving cultural landscape.
Brief
This project builds on the Design Innovation Centre’s work on the Ramappa Temple by using photogrammetry and photography to document its architecture and its connection to Perini Natyam. It focuses on documenting the temple’s structures and sculptures, recording key elements of the dance form, and showcasing the craftsmanship of Kakatiya artisans. The aim is to clearly communicate the cultural importance of both the temple and Perini Natyam through thoughtful visual storytelling.
The Ramappa
Temple
Ramappa Temple features over 1000 intricate sculptures which highlight the fine craftsmanship of Kakatiya artisans.
The carvings served as visual references in reviving Perini Natyam, a war dance that was forgotten for over 5 centuries.
Once obscure for centuries, the temple is culturally and socially significant to contemporary Telangana.
The Problem
How can we promote the rich cultural heritage of Telangana by preserving and showcasing the sculptural legacy of Ramappa Temple in an engaging and impactful way?
Research Insights
Affinity mapping was used to organise and analyse insights from both primary and secondary research. Throughout the process, detailed notes were kept to document limitations, failures, learnings, and observations- an essential step given the experimental nature of the project and the fact that this medium was being explored for the first time. In this context, failures and limitations were just as valuable as successes.
Site Visit
Purpose
To document the temple, from the average human height to the top of the shikhara using Photogrammetry.
Outcome
A 3D Scan of the temple for a Virtual Reality experience.
Over 60,000 images were captured using a drone, DSLR, and GoPro as part of the photogrammetry process. I was responsible for capturing close-up sculptural details using the GoPro, to ensure high-resolution inputs for accurate 3D reconstruction.
3D Scans of the Temple
The Final Outcome
A book that uncovers the role of temple art in Unearthing a Long-Forgotten War Dance.
Transformed research insights into a designed book that-
Fills a key research gap: Traces how the dance sculptures moved from obscurity to becoming central in reviving a lost dance form and shaping Telangana’s cultural identity.
Reveals cultural depth: Highlights Kakatiya artisans’ craftsmanship and shows that the sculptures embody cultural memory, not just decoration.
“All the dance poses depicted in sculpture in this temple are examples of the art that was witnessed by the devotees sitting at case round the mandapa." (Murthy, 1974)
Structure of the Narrative
Interactive Case
Along with the book, I designed a case with 2 mm cut lines on the top using a CNC machine. My aim with this design was to create an illusion of movement, so that the dancer graphic on the book cover appears animated as the user slides the book out of the case.
The Final Book
Though carved in stone, the dance sculptures convey a striking sense of energy and movement. This project explored how a book, static like the sculptures, could evoke that motion through its form, and material choices.
Layered transparent sheets with illustrations were used to depict movement and visually connect the evolution of modern Perini Natyam to the original stone sculptures.
Colour palette: The colour palette was intentionally limited to dark brown and grey to draw focus to the stone sculptures.
Typefaces: Satoshi and Bespoke, two open-source Google fonts, were used-Satoshi for its clean readability, and Bespoke for its subtle sense of heritage.
Illustration style: Illustrations were developed in a minimal style inspired by the weathered temple carvings, arranged like panels on temple walls.
