Kalyana mandapa (Marriage Hall) of Jalakanteshvara Temple, View of outer enclosure

This photograph shows the kalyana mandapam, or marriage hall for the deity's ritual betrothal, in the Jalakanteshvara temple with its impressive carvings of riders on horseback and mythical creatures. Dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, the temple was built in 1566 in the Vellore fort near Madras (now Chennai). The fort was used by the British for defensive and administrative purposes from the late 1700s. The importance of the architectural structures in the Vellore fort was recognized by the early 1800s, and by 1882 the temple had entered the list of historical monuments in the Madras Presidency, one of the three administrative divisions of the British territories in India. Its sculptural program and inscriptions were studied and the site was mapped by the Archaeological Survey of India. The British official seen in the photograph may be a member of such a team who is accompanied by his local assistants.