A. Barakur Archaeological Excavation Project
Barakur, now a small town on the west coast of Karnataka, was once a flourishing city. It was a provincial capital for the region, an industrial center and a commercial town with a seaport carrying on trade with countries beyond the Arabian Sea. This site, which was awaiting systematic probing for long, has the potential to open up fresh lines of enquiry in the study of Urban Archaeology. The Institute has proposed to take up preliminary excavations here in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India. The excavations will be conducted under the direction of Dr. S. Nagaraju, Dr. B. Narasimhaiah and Dr. S.V.P. Halakatti.

B. Aihole Temple Studies Project
Aihole, now a small village in the present Bagalkot district of Karnataka, is a veritable "Site museum of Indian temple styles". It is the only place in the country where temples belonging to all the three major temple styles (Nagara, Dravida and Vesara) exist together. As some of these are very early age representing the formative stages in the evolution of temples, Aihole has also been credited with the title “Cradle of Temple Architecture”. The architectural experiments here may have served as models for further Developments in other regions of India and South-East Asia.

Whereas the above observations are based on the study of about twenty temples which were accessible to early scholars, continuous efforts by the Archaeological Survey of India in the last thirty years, in clearing all the monuments from the debris accumulated on them for centuries, have opened over a hundred temples built there between the 5^th and 13^th centuries A.D. Many new features have come to light even in the temples studied earlier and hundreds of sculptures and other antiquities have been recovered. All these call for a fresh study. The M.H. Krishna Institute has thus initiated a two year project for a multidimensional study of Aihole temples. The Project would be directed by Dr. S. Nagaraju and Dr. S.V. Padigar.

C. Ujjain Kumbha Mela Research Project - 2004
In collaboration with the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manava Sangrahalaya (Museum of Mankind), Bhopal, the Institute carried out a project of documenting the Kumbha Mela celebrations held at Ujjain during April – May 2004.

This unique twelve yearly event, wherein pontiffs and followers of various religious denominations and different orders of sanyasis gather, had been identified by our Institute as an ideal starting point for its long term programme of preparation of monographs on Hindu religious sects and traditions. This year's Kumbha Mela was spectacular with nearly 30 million people taking part in it. Our research team interviewed several sabhapaits, mahamandaleshwaras, mahants and other functionaries of the famous akhadas (ascetic organizations), and as well as individual recluses and lay devotees. Various religious practices like those of the Aghori sanyasis, different methods of yoga practice like titiksha (endurance development by exposing oneself to sun or cold for hours) and panchagnisadhana (performing penance sitting amidst fire on four sides and above), a yajna (fire sacrifice) and the famous holy dips (Shahi-snans) in the river Kshipra were extensively videographed.

The data collected provide insight into the contemporary religion-society interface. Our interviews revealed that a significant reorientation is going on in modern Hinduism laying less stress on caste distinctions but highlighting the importance of individual and social conduct based on human values. This research project is a novel experiment in contemporary anthropological research. The material gathered is being processed for preparing monographs and documentary films.