Recently we all have been hearing of terms such as - NFTs, Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, blockchain and the like.

With this article we will attempt to describe a "NFT". A Non-Fungible Token is a digital asset whose authenticity has been registered on a block chain ledger. The expression "non-fungible" signifies uniqueness. Although both crypto currencies and Non-Fungible Tokens use block chain innovation, they are not the same. Crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, are fungible tokens, which means each crypto currency unit is equivalent to another.

Claiming a Non-Fungible Token is similar to possessing a signed poster of a sports star. You are the sole proprietor of that poster. Likewise, only a single individual can own a Non-Fungible Token at a time. However, the original creator of that photo possesses the intellectual property rights in the photograph. Non-Fungible Tokens help in recording this right digitally.

A new market for Non-Fungible Tokens has arisen wherein organizations and people purchase and sell these non-fungible tokens. By and large, without an agreement, ownership of a Non-Fungible Tokens will not grant ownership of the underlying content or any associated intellectual property rights. Thus, a Non-Fungible Token proprietor may not be allowed to imitate, disperse copies, reproduce, or make derivative works of the original work. It is similar to a painter selling his painting, but not giving up the intellectual property rights in that painting.

Non-Fungible Tokens have largely impacted the entertainment industry. The Non-fungible nature of NFTs has made another distribution model for monetizing intellectual property, and different considerations ought to be tended to when licensing, allocating, or transferring intellectual property rights. Further, NFT creators ought to be aware of potential infringement when utilizing intellectual property and consider protection under law for their original creations. Due to some of the unique aspects of Non-Fungible Tokens, various new considerations need to be addressed when licensing, assigning, or transferring intellectual property rights.

As brands become more aggressive in making their own tokenized assets during this beginning phase of the Non-Fungible Token bubble, they would be reasonable to rethink their Intellectual Property security regulations. For instance, brand proprietors ought to consider extending their trademark registrations to cover trademark uses and classifications that include Non-Fungible Tokens.

Because of the nature of block chain transactions, joined with the anonymous nature of Non-Fungible Token ownership, it is very difficult to uphold Intellectual Property rights against a purchaser once a Non-Fungible Token is sold. Normally, a Non-Fungible Token is associated to a digital wallet address, however the identity of the wallet proprietor may be difficult to discern without sophisticated computer forensics.

Earlier last month, WazirX was announced as India’s first and largest NFT marketplace. WazirX is India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. WazirX is a subsidiary of Binance, which is known to be the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Binance was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Cayman Islands. WazirX was acquired by Binance in 2019. WazirX stated that, ‘the NFT marketplace launched is for Indian artists and creators to narrate the new Indian story.’

Indian manufacturers prefer having their manufacturing projects outsourced to countries like China. With the increasing awareness of protection of Intellectual Property in India, Indian businesses have also started registering and protecting their intellectual property in India as well as in other countries where their products are manufactured or sold. Protection of intellectual property is now seen as an international activity instead of one that is confined to the territory of India. China can safely be called the manufacturing hub of businesses around the world. Considering that China’s economy predominantly consists of the manufacturing sector and its robust manufacturing mechanisms reduce the costs of manufacturing, many businesses in India and abroad resort to China for manufacturing whole or parts of their products.

In such scenarios, since China becomes the birth place aka the place of origin for the products to be sold, the protection of intellectual property in China with respect to these products (part or in whole) is crucial. Once the rights in the products, be it industrial design rights, trademark rights or copyright in the products or labels are protected in China, the issue of infringement and piracy will almost be “nipped in the bud”.

As is popularly observed, China has a large number of manufacturers. The general arrangement is that businesses from other countries share the specifications of their products or parts thereof, with the manufacturers for manufacturing, packaging and labelling. By protecting the design in China, the brand owners can prohibit the manufacturers from using the brand owner’s product designs for other brands or competing businesses. This helps avoid design/ trademark infringement in addition to the spread of counterfeit products in the international as well as the domestic markets. Hence it is a strategic move to register one’s designs in China, irrespective of the products being sold in China.

The good news is that, it is relatively easy to protect design rights in China. Further, recently, the Chinese IP Office viz. the CNIPA, issued interim provisions in its IP laws by virtue of which design applications filed on/after 1 June, 2021 can be protected for a term of 15 years. This is opposed to the earlier period protection being 10 years, which is still applicable to design applications filed before 1 June, 2021. All that is needed for registration is, details of the Applicant, images of the designs to be registered and Power of Attorney from the Applicant in favour of a local Attorney in China. Further the government fees for filing design application in China is as less as USD 90 for the Application Stage!

What makes registration even easier is that the partial design will be an allowable subject matter in a Chinese design application. According to the Chinese law, the design also does not lose its novelty if it is exhibited/ published at government sponsored Exhibitions, Academic or Technological Conferences. Further, if the designs have been disclosed in the interest of the public at large in cases of emergency or if it was disclosed, without the consent of the applicant, it still does not lose its novelty.

Conclusion: In view of the above, it is recommended for Indian businesses, especially manufacturers to register their products’ or their parts’ designs in China. It is not only easy and feasible, but is also a very strong protection to have for one’s international design portfolio and helps to fend off infringers globally.

-Dr. Mohan Dewan

We often value things and people the most when we lose them. When they are with us, we take them and their feelings for granted. Often, we don't appreciate them and their existence. This is also true about our senses.

I had taken for granted my sense of smell all these years. Enjoyed what I ate and drank; was pleased by the scents and aromas I received and got disgusted by foul odors. I was proud that I could smell cigarette smoke when I entered a room and reacted to the smell of alcohol.

Then, Covid struck me in April 2021 and my sense of smell was gone. In fact, that is how I realized that I was infected by the virus. During the illness everything tasted like chalk powder. It is mid-July and as I write this, the sense of smell still hasn't returned properly. I realized that odors and smells can change the perception of our surroundings. And also, that we have no control on what we smell. Scents can give joy and pleasure. When the first rains started falling, I remembered the scent of the earth receiving this rain. I missed that. I also missed the calmness I felt by the scent of fresh bread just out of the oven. And the delight the scent of freshly cut grass gave me.

With the loss of this sensation, I realized that taste and smell are two different sensations. ...entirely different experiences. My sense of taste was not affected: I could discern, that what I ate or drank was sweet or salty or bitter, tangy or bland or spicy (this is a newly discovered taste called "umami"). But there was no flavour in the food or drink. If I closed my eyes, I would not be able to guess whether I was eating an apple or a pear.

I discovered the importance of the texture of the food or drink, something I had also taken for granted. Texture adds significantly to the eating experience particularly, when you can't smell it! Some foods had a smooth texture. Others were grainy.

I started enjoying my food and drink from memory. I forced my mind to draw on the stored memories of various foods and drinks and imagined their flavors. This gave me some satisfaction at meal time. I was grateful that I could at least taste it! I am told that some patients even lost their sense of taste and everything tasted bitter.

I discovered that I was wrong and the tongue had little to do with the flavour and aroma of food and drink. Flavours and aroma are sensed by cells that are part of the olfactory system and we enjoy food and drink by receptors embedded in our respiratory tract, particularly the nasal cavity.

I became curious and decided to study this phenomenon in depth. My study surprisingly revealed that the sense of smell is the most important sense for most animals. More than even sight. Animals and insects hunt, even in pitch darkness, by the sense of smell and even recognize friend or foe by this sense. Even sharks can smell blood in water even a quarter of a mile away. Their sense of smell is so acute that they can sense the equivalent of a drop of blood in an average sized swimming pool, We, as humans, can recognize and automatically memorize and identify over a trillion distinct smells and odors.

The physiology people tell us that there are smell receptors at the back of the nasal cavity. They call them the olfactory receptor "thinking" neurons in the olfactory epithelium in the mucus lining here and there are millions of such cells. Smell goes by Science word "olfaction". This smell sensing specialized neurons have tiny little "hairs" called cilia that are activated by the vibrations of odors and smells of air borne particles either in air or particles or aroma bearing molecules in the air that contact these cilia from the mouth cavity when we eat our food or drink. Each aroma giving molecule has a vibration signal of a distinct frequency which in turn causes the cilia to vibrate in tune, when these molecules come close to them. It is a type of resonance. These vibrations from the cilia are transmitted to the brain as electrical impulses via the olfactory nerve, traveling at a speed of a thousandth of a second, from neuron to neuron, the dendritis and axons coupling them along the way. The cranial nerve is the shortest of the cranial nerves. Smell and aroma impulse signals are electrical signals, transmitted to the olfactory cortex also referred to as the olfactory lobes in the frontal portion of the cerebrum of the brain. This portion of the brain is a part of the vast neural network. The Patterns of these vibrations of smell and aroma are received in olfactory bulb which processes these signals by memory or emotion and finally after identification these smell signals are also stored in the cerebral repository here and can be recalled from memory. These patterns cause emotional responses in the mind of pleasure or disgust.

In the process of recall, a smell or odour vibration is compared with stored smell data to identify the smell and recognize it. If our eyes see an object, we can recall the smell or aroma in a previous experience and feel the emotional response it evoked. The realization of this activity filled me with awe and great respect for the Spirit that so thoughtfully had created this complex mechanism. I drew on this stored memory patterns to "smell" the food I was eating or drinking with gratitude. Although I could not smell it, I recalled the pleasurable emotion it had created in me.

I knew deep in my mind that I had to do something more to reactivate and rejuvenate my "injured" olfactory neurons. Self-control includes having control on the senses, including the sense of smell. I needed to think positively. I could choose to visualize what to smell. Smell was merely a function of my brain. The emotion it evoked was a function of my mind. By tuning into the Spirit I was able to energise my mind to receive vibrations of positive energy and clear my mind of my thoughts that I could not smell properly. I realized that I am the master of my mind. That I am the master of what I sense. So I started a regimen of smelling scents. All types of scents, smells, odors and aroma. I focused on every breath I was taking to sense any trace of smell in the air. I realized that it was necessary to relax and " go with the flow". I needed to affirm in my mind that I was healed. That was when the whiffs of the scents and odors were received. I discovered that the smell and the feeling of the air fresh in the morning was very light and different from that heavy air at night. I started smelling coffee beans in a bottle, continuously stirring the beans to drive the aroma out. I was delighted that I started getting a little aroma of the beans. It relaxed me, knowing that I had not completely lost my sense of smell. Then it was eucalyptus oil. Here too I started getting a faint scent. I chewed on radish, could feel it's sting but no smell. I also explored my feelings along with the sense. I felt my self immediately feeling de-stressed and with a sense of relief and gratefulness. I kept on challenging myself with one odor after another.

A brahma Kamal flower suddenly flowered one night in our garden. It has a delicate scent. I went close to it and was able to smell it. It was a great feeling!

I smelt the faint smell of the champa flowers that bloomed in the rain. I felt my irritation disappearing. Replaced with an emotion of hope and gratitude. I think it is all in the mind. Our thoughts tend to meander from our memories in the past to our insecurities in our imagination in the future. We forget to live with our senses, emotions and feelings in the present. This is the only real moment that matters, where we breath in all our energies and enthusiasm along with the smell and the odor and breath out all our irritation and stress. We forget to see and feel and sense the world around us. I learnt to be grateful for whatever comes: good, bad or indifferent. I realized that the advice that you should always have positive thoughts lacked reality. All thoughts that are received are just that: thoughts. They are neither good nor bad, neither negative nor positive. They are visitors that visit our mind. Just that. Some thoughts lead to creativity, while others to fear. Some are just passing by. We need to feel the vibrations from the universe. The deeper and longer our breath, the greater the feeling of relaxation and well-being. We need to learn to live this moment. Meditate on it. This is the only reality.

The Supreme Court on 27th November, 2020 was dealing with a petition filed by the Madras Bar Association challenging the validity of the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience and other Conditions of Service of Members) Rules, 2020 (“2020 Rules”). In this judgment the Supreme Court particularly ordered that the 2020 Rules shall be amended to the effect that, inter alia,

a. the Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons and the members of the Tribunal shall hold office for a term of five years

b. They shall be eligible for reappointment;

c. Other members shall hold office till they attain the age of sixty-seven years.

d. Advocates with an experience of at least 10 years shall be eligible for appointment as judicial members in the Tribunals and that they shall be eligible for reappointment. The Search-cum-Selection Committee shall take into account the experience of the Advocate at the bar and their specialization in the relevant branches of law.

After this judgment, the Government of India, notified The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 in April 2021. Section 12 and 13 of this Ordinance sought to amend Sections 184 and 186(2) of the Finance Act, 2017. The Madras Bar Association, again approached the Supreme Court, claiming that these provisions are ultra vires Articles 14, 21, and 50 of the Constitution of India and violate the principles of separation of powers, independence of judiciary and should therefore be struck down. It stated that these provisions are also in contravention to the above mentioned directions of the Supreme Court with regards to the 2020 Rules.

The Court held that the provision (Section 12) of the Ordinance, which holds that the eligibility criteria for appointments to the Tribunals as 50 years of age, is invalid. It reiterated that advocates having 10 years of experience are eligible for appointment. Further, the Supreme Court had earlier held that the term of Chairperson of a Tribunal shall be five years or till she or he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier and that the term of a Member of the Tribunal shall be five years or till she or he attains the age of 67 years, whichever is earlier. Hence, the new tenure of four years for Chairperson/Member mentioned in the Ordinance was held to be invalid as it was not in consonance with the direction of the Supreme Court.

In October 2020, the Delhi High Court passed an ex-parte injunction restraining Indo-Swiss Chemicals Ltd. (“Indo Swiss Chemicals”) from dealing in a fungicidal composition which is the subject matter of Willowood Chemical Pvt. Ltd’s (“Willowood”) patent (bearing India Patent No. 342004) as it, prima facie, amounted to infringement. The Court had even ordered appointment of a Local Commissioner to investigate Indo Swiss’s premises for making inventory of the infringing products.

Indo Swiss Chemicals applied to the Delhi High Court seeking a vacation of this order.

Indo Swiss Chemicals stated that it stopped manufacturing and selling the fungicidal composition since the Local Commissioner’s inspection and obeyed the Court’s injunction order. However, it stated, that the shelf life of the products which were already manufactured is only 2 years. It pleaded that if the products (which have a market value of almost INR 3 Cr) are not sold, it would bear heavy financial losses. And thus, it prayed that the stock be allowed to be sold. It even assured the Court that it would furnish a bank guarantee of INR 50 Lakh for further court orders.

Willowood contended that the application praying for such sale should not be granted as the dispute had first arisen in 2019, when it was also brought to the notice of the Defendant. However, it had ignored the legal notice received from Willowood and continued to manufacture the infringing products. Willowood contended that irreparable loss would be caused to it, if the application is allowed. Further, the Haryana Pesticides Manufacturers’ Association, of which the Indo Swiss is a member, had filed a pre-grant opposition against Willowood’s patent. This pre-grant opposition was dismissed and the patent was granted. According to Willowood, Indo Swiss went on selling its stock inspite of knowing that the patent was granted.

The Court was not very pleased after perusing the Local Commissioner’s report, as there was information/ documents, which were not provided and stated to be unavailable at the defendant’s premises during the investigation.

Thus, the Court did not allow Indo Swiss Chemicals' request stating that it had already sold a considerable amount of the infringing stock despite having lost the pre- grant opposition. The Court held, “Hence, this court had clearly noted that damages are entirely insufficient as a panacea for the holder of a valid patent which is infringed by another. Intellectual property has its own sanctity.”.

The Comedy Factory was a sole proprietorship firm and was the registered proprietor of the mark ‘ ’. The Comedy Factory, a Gujarati YouTube Channel, was conceptualized by Manan Desai and his wife Vidya Desai. In 2019 they incorporated the company viz. - TCF ENTERTAINMENT PRIVATE LIMITED. The mark bearing no. 2815546 registered since 2014 and claiming use since August 2011, was assigned from the sole proprietorship firm to the company TCF ENTERTAINMENT PRIVATE LIMITED (hereinafter referred to as TCF). TCF is also the proprietor of the domain name: https://www.thecomedyfactory.in/#home since at least May, 2012. The mark is also prominently used on the above referred webpage. Manan Desai is a popular Indian actor and comedian and has worked in the industry with several popular production houses including Zee Entertainment.

In 2021, the Desai couple were informed by a fan that Zee Entertainment was intending to launch a show under their mark ‘The Comedy Factory’ in collaboration with the production house - Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter Optimystix). Manan Desai, the co-founder and director of TCF approached Optimystix in an attempt to amicably settle the matter. Zee and Optimystix both proposed changing the name of the proposed show to ‘Zee Comedy Factory’. However, this was not acceptable to TCF, since their mark as a whole was still being used and the fans in all probability will associate Zee’s show with TCF, thereby permitting Zee to piggyback on the goodwill garnered by TCF.

TCF then sent a legal notice to Zee to cease and desist henceforth from the using TCF’s marks. However, Zee allegedly responded to the notice stating that the use of the prefix ‘ZEE’ ensured that the mark is distinct from that of TCF’s. Meanwhile, TCF observed that Zee had filed several trademark applications starting June, 2021, for the mark ‘Zee Comedy Factory’ (bearing application no. 5011529), (bearing application no. 5019635) and (bearing application no. 5019637).

TCF then decided to take the matter to Court, and approached the Hon’ble High Court of Bombay claiming infringement of their mark ‘THE COMEDY FACTORY’. During the hearing, the Defendant (Zee), proposed that they will not use the mark ‘Comedy Factory’ or ‘Comedy ki Factory’ and have decided to change their show’s name to ‘Zee Comedy Show’. Zee also has been asked to submit an affidavit stating the above. TCF had no objection to the proposed name: ‘Zee Comedy Show’.

The primary takeaway from this case is that, if there exists a popular trademark which has acquired distinctiveness and is associated solely with a particular entity (e.g.: The Comedy Factory), merely adding a prefix to such a mark ‘Zee Comedy Factory’ does not change the infringing nature of the act.

Snapdeal Private Limited has an online platform for merchants and traders and various other third party sellers to connect with customers throughout India. Various other companies also exist that provide similar platforms and services to these traders and merchants. One such company is Futuretimes Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (“Futuretimes”) which owns the website www.clubfactory.com. It is the Indian subsidiary of Jiayun Data Technology Company. Snapdeal claims that during the period of March 2020 www.clubfactory.com was running advertisements on Facebook bearing the tagline “Everything cheaper than Snapdeal”.

Snapdeal approached the Delhi High Court: SNAPDEAL PRIVATE LIMITED v. M/S FUTURETIMES TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD CS CS(COMM) 113/2020 stating that Futuretimes had falsely advertised its products with an aim to mislead and divert potential customers of Snapdeal. Snapdeal also stated that both the platforms are “market place” based models and therefore the prices on these platforms are independent variables and always available in the public domain. It contended, “In a market-place based model the product inventory as also the sellers are dynamic. Two marketplaces with multitude of sellers offering a multitude of products at any given point of time are therefore by definition incomparable.” .” Snapdeal claimed that Futuretimes was responsible for tarnishing the goodwill and reputation of Snapdeal in the public domain.

In its plaint, Snapdeal prayed that Futuretimes be required to be pay damages to the tune of Rs.2,00,01,000/- (approx. USD 26,900), in lieu of damage to the reputation and unauthorized use of the trademark ‘Snapdeal’ as well as for the loss in sales that occurred during the course of the advertisement. However, at a later date, the parties settled the dispute whereby Futuretimes agreed to all the conditions imposed by Snapdeal and in return Snapdeal agreed not to seek damages from it.

The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”), on 18.06.2021, has granted registration to Recorded Music Performance Limited (“RMPL”) as Copyright Society under the provisions of Section 33(3) of the Copyright Act, 1957 thereby permitting RMPL to commence and carry on the copyright business in SOUND RECORDING WORKS.

What is a Copyright Society?

Copyright societies are societies formed by authors and owners of Original Works in which Copyright subsists. Such societies grant licenses to applicants for commercial exploitation of their Works and in return earn royalty. It is impossible for an author/owner of Original Work to keep a track on all the users of his/her Work, earn royalty or take actions against any unauthorized use. In order to overcome such difficulties the authors/owners become members to Copyright societies and license their Works for commercial exploitation. Such societies are also authorized to take actions against infringers on behalf of the Owners of Copyrights.

Copyright Society is a society registered under the provisions of Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Registered Copyright Society:

As per Section 33(3) of the Copyrights Act, 1957 the Central Government shall not ordinarily register more than one copyright society to do business in respect of the same class of works. There are different Copyright societies registered depending on the category of Work. As on today, following are the registered Copyright Societies:-

i. For Literary works associated with Musical Works: The Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS)

ii. For Reprographic (photo copying) works: Indian Reprographic Rights Organization (IRRO)

iii. For Performers (Singers) Rights: Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA)

iv. For Sound Recordings (records) Works: Recorded Music Performance Limited (RMPL)

RMPL is not the first Copyright Society to be registered for Sound Recording Works. In fact, Phonographic Performance Limited India (PPL) was the first Copyright Society registered for Sound Recording Works till May, 2014. Its members consisted all popular music labels like T-Series, Saregama, Universal Music, Venus Music, and the like. An application for re-registration of PPL was rejected by the Registrar of Copyrights, against which it had moved to Delhi High Court. Apart from reconsidering and reversing the Registrar's decision, one of the plea of PPL was to restrain the Copyright Office from registering any other copyright society with respect to sound recordings.

On 2nd June, 2021 the Delhi High Court passed an order declining such an injunction but restrained the Copyright Office to not take any action 'inconsistent with this position' during the pendency of petition of PPL for revival of its registration.

It would be interesting to note that if PPL's plea for re-registration is granted, will the registration of RMPL for similar work, i.e. Sound Recording be considered as 'inconsistent'.

We are all aware that the five circles of the Olympic Games’ logo represent the union of the 5 continents of the planet and the meeting of the global sports fraternity at the Olympic Games. The story behind the present 2020 Tokyo Olympics logo can be dated back to July 2015, when the Japanese Olympic organizing committee released its first logo. It was graphic designer Kenjiro Sano who designed the minimalistic logo. The logo which was released in both static as well as animated form incorporated a ‘T’ for Tokyo and the red sun of the Japanese flag.

However, shortly after, a Belgian designer Olivier Debie, filed a plagiarism lawsuit wherein he claimed that the Tokyo Olympics logo design was deceptively similar to the logo which he had created for a theatre in Belgium namely ‘Theatre de liege’ in 2011. As a proof he published the two designs side-by-side for comparison which caused a major embarrassment to the Japanese government.

*We claim no rights in the above logos. They have used for representational purposes only.

Thereafter, the organizing committee withdrew Sano’s logo and organised a national-level design competition to create a new logo for the 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo. More than 15,000 entries were received, out of which only 4 finalists were announced in April 2016, and the designs were put to vote by the general public.

Finally, the design of 2020 Olympic Games logo by Asao Tokolo, a 46-year-old Japanese artist who is renowned for his design work using mathematical patterns was declared as the winner. See below:

*We do not claim any rights over the trademark/brand name. It is being used for representational/educational purposes only.

According to the Olympics Organizing committee, the geometries in the harmonized checkered emblem, represent different countries, cultures, and ways of thinking. In terms of colour choices, indigo is a traditional Japanese blue which is considered to be an expression of exquisite elegance and sophistication.

Moreover recently, a discovery of a hidden trait in the new Olympic Games Logo has taken the design-fraternity by frenzy. Upon a closer look at the Tokyo Olympic Games logo and the Tokyo Paralympics Games logo, both can morph into each other just by realignment of some of the rectangles.

-Adv. Chinmay Pawar

The Pradyota dynasty

The Pradyota dynasty ruled for approximately 138 years from 2102 BC to 1964 BC over the kingdom of ‘Avanti’ located in the modern day state of western Madhya Pradesh with its capital at Ujjain (Ujjayani).Pradyota Mahasena was the founder of the Pradyota dynasty.

It is believed that, his father Pulika (Punika), killed Ripunjaya of the Brihadratha dynasty at Rajagriha, to make his son the king.

The Pradyota dynasty is mentioned in various Buddhist and Jain texts. They state that the Pradyota princes used to kill their fathers to become kings. The Pradyota dynasty continued to rule Avanti until it was conquered by Shishunaga, the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire.

-Adv. Chinmay Pawar

Ramappa temple- Telangana

The Ramappa temple dedicated to Lord Rudreshswara (Lord Shiva) is located in the village of Palampet, about 200 km north of Telangana’s capital city Hyderabad. The temple complex was built by Racherla Rudra Reddy a general of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva. However, it is famously known by its architect’s name – Ramappa. It was built using sandstone and its construction, which began in 1213 CE, is believed to have continued for over four decades.

Recently, the UNESCO has included this architectural marvel in the list of World Heritage Sites.

Location of Ramappa temple (Source: Google maps)

*We do not claim any copyright in the photographs. They have been used for academic and representational purposes only. (Image courtesy: Wikipedia & Twitter/@narendramodi)