Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Cultural background. 2. Indigenous art. 3. Indo-Aryan art. 4. Indo-Tibetan art. 5. Chronology. Bibliography. Index.

Himachal the dev Bhumi as known to the ancients lies in the heart of the Western Himalayas. It is a land of fascination and mystery and its centuries old culture rightly commands deep interest and respect. In itself the region may seem insignificant thinly populated and located in one of the most interior regions of the Western Himalayas between the Indian Plains and Kashmir. Nevertheless in the hills and valleys it evolved an unique complex of art and culture made up of many strains both native and foreign in which indigenous religion and beliefs predominate. On the one hand Himachal Pradesh maintained ancient indigenous traditions and on the other it adopted with great fidelity the highly developed cultural influence from the Indian plains and semi cultural inflow from the both and north east. The inherited and imported elements made an amalgam which gave Himachal Pradesh a distinctive character.

This is the first comprehensive volume to appear on the Art and Architecture of Himachal Pradesh, and it includes sections on Hindu and Buddhist Architecture in the Western Himalaya Sculpture bronzes, woodcarving Pahari painting and Chamba Rumals. It contains also an extensive and invaluable bibliography and an equally invaluable list of temples the most complete so far undertaken the author having obtained the name location and style of each shrine from the relevant district officers stationed throughout the state. (jacket)