Prototype Development / Proof of Concept Development
Iteration 1 (2014)
The journey began in 2014, inspired by Prof. Debashish Nayak’s persistent encouragement to share my resources online for broader awareness and research. I devoted six months of my time, dedicating 8 hours each day, along with a significant amount of personal funds, to launch a WordPress website. However, in 2016, a devastating flood severely damaged my home and led to the loss of the website and numerous valuable hard drives. This experience underscored the crucial need for institutional support to safeguard and preserve such an important collection.
Iteration 2 (2019)
In a renewed effort, I reached out to my network, and six friends – Himanshu Desai, Deven Oza, Sandeep Joshi, Snehal Tambulwadikar, and Tanveer Ajsi – stepped up to assist in reconstructing the website. Within two weeks, we developed a prototype, intending to use it for fundraising. Despite featuring only a small fraction of my extensive 30,000-photo collection, the prototype was impressive. However, our progress was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, Deven Oza ensured the website remained active, sustaining it with personal funds.
Some old pages and posts:
Iteration 3 / Present Iteration (2024)
Recognizing the scope of this project, we understood the need for a dedicated team, substantial funding, and a more structured approach. Despite interest from potential backers, our lack of clear communication and a detailed plan hindered progress. The concept of digital humanities and digital archaeology being relatively new in India, particularly outside federal institutions, posed additional challenges.
Realizing the power of a fully realized prototype, I decided to focus on developing a comprehensive module for one cave temple, showcasing the potential of the entire project. However, due to resource constraints, I have been working on this project independently, learning WordPress through online resources. This self-reliance has imposed limitations on the technical and design aspects of the website.
As we seek institutional support, funding, or grants, we hope our current limitations will be understood and forgiven by our users. Building an encyclopedia is a long journey, often spanning decades or even centuries, and we are committed to this endeavor.