‘In Indian architecture, even in the more limited context of the Hindu temple architecture of the northern Nagara type, Mandi has little to offer. No movement seems to have started here. There is not even an interesting innovation in the temple types one associates with either the state or the town of Mandi,” Amrit Bolaria states in her book, ‘The Temples of Mandi’, and which the late Prof BN Goswamy highlights in his foreword. Why then did she choose to document the temples of this Himachal town? The answer lies in her beautifully illustrated volume.

As its name suggests, Mandi was a centre of trade — “on the nodal point of an ancient and important trade route… constantly exposed to outside influences”. The town connected the Punjab plains with Ladakh and beyond. As a royal seat of the e

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