Shadows of an empire is a collection of photographs that tells the story of Vijayanagar. The ruins of a city in north Karnataka which 16th century Portuguese traveller, Domingo Paes, called “as large as Rome and very beautiful”. Photo-artist Sanjay Dongre captures the traces of this history — the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar empire which intrigues and attracts people from all over the world — through images of cut rock relics rich with impressions of time and what he calls shadows. This collection, apart from being exhibited at galleries, has also formed a 100-page coffee table book with the title, Shadows of an Empire.

The Virupaksha temple in all its glory. Pics courtesy/Sanjay Dongre