Dr.
Handa is a well-known
connoisseur of art and culture.
He is an outstanding scholar
in history and archaeology,
especially of the Himalayan
region, having been in the field
now for almost half a century.
In his exploratory pursuits,
he has been undertaking several
expeditions, many of them the
solo ones, to the far-flung
nooks and corners of the Himalaya
interiors. This underscores
his zeal to explore the antique
but extant material evidences
of history, art and culture
of the Himalayan region, and
his commitment to acquire first-hand
and authentic knowledge of various
aspects of the creative enterprise
of the people of this region.
This quality is well reflected
in his writings.
He did his post-graduation in
History from University of Mysore,
Ph.D. from Meerut University
and D.Lit. from Agra University.
Having come from civil engineer-ing
background, he remained in-charge
of the Dept. of Museum &
Archaeology, Himachal Pradesh
for several years.
Dr. Handa has nineteen books
on art, history, archaeology
and culture of the Himalayan
region to his credit. Besides,
he has written articles and
research papers for various
national and international research
journals, and contributed to
the Encyclopaedia of Hinduism.
He has, thus, more than 500
papers and articles to his credit.
He has also been performing
for the radio and TV. He has
participated in several regional,
national and international seminars
and workshops and delivered
lectures at various forums in
India and abroad.
He was a member of different
expert committees of Lalit Kala
Akademi, New Delhi and Ministry
of Tourism & Culture, Govt.
of India. He was a fellow of
the Himachal Academy of Art,
Language and Culture, Shimla;
Indian Council of Historical
Research, New Delhi; and Indian
Institute of Advanced Studies,
Shimla at different periods.
He was a Senior Fellow of the
Indian Council of Historical
Research, New Delhi from 2001
to 2003. Presently, he is a
fellow of US-based Infinity
Foundation, working on the Himalayan
domestic architecture.
