Panaji: Photographs taken by German Indologist and field researcher Gritli von Mitterwallner during her surveys of Goa’s temples, sculptures and architectural remains in the 1960s are offering a rare visual record of the state’s changing heritage.The directorate of museums is showcasing the photographs at a commemorative programme and exhibition, “Goa Then through Gritli’s Lens and Goa Now”, organised to mark Mitterwallner’s birth anniversary.“The German scholar had conducted extensive research in the western region, including Goa, during the 1960s,” director of museums Vasu Usapkar said.“She photographed a range of temples, cultural sites and antiquities during her research. The exhibition uses those photographs to compare the condition of heritage structures and antiquities in the 1960s with their present-day condition,” he said.One example is the Tamdi Surla temple. Historical photographs show its deteriorated roof, while the temple was subsequently restored by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).“These are the only documented historical photographs of the temples from that era and they have been sourced from articles and material in which the German researcher had published the images,” Usapkar said.Mitterwallner, who was associated with the Institute of Indology at the University of Munich, documented temples, stone structures, sculptures and architectural fragments, including sites outside Goa’s better-known monuments. Her fieldwork was recorded in ‘Indian Archaeology 1965–66 – A Review’, while her later writings included contributions to Goa: Cultural Patterns.She passed away in 2012.“Mitterwallner’s surveys brought attention to the surviving physical traces of Goa’s temples, stone structures, sculptures, sacred images and other architectural fragments,” Usapkar said.The exhibition uses historical and contemporary photographs to trace deterioration, conservation and restoration of Goa’s built heritage.
