Impostor syndrome is the persistent feeling that your success is undeserved and that you will soon be exposed as a fraud, even when outside evidence shows you are competent. People who experience it often attribute achievements to luck or to fooling others, and dismiss praise. It is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis and is not listed in the DSM-5 or ICD-11, so researchers still know little about how common it is or how best to treat it. It is widely discussed in workplaces and academia, where high achievers are especially prone to it.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.