Exhibitions
High Seas, Open Roads
We’re excited to be opening 2025 with our fourth show, and the first to be hosted at our archive in Fort.
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Talks
‘Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity’ by Manu S Pillai
“Hinduism’s encounter with the West and Christianity is a fascinating story.” Historian and best-selling author Manu S Pillai launched his book, Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity, with a talk at the Sarmaya archive in Fort, Mumbai on 7 December, 2024. Manu is the author of five books and a… Read more »
Spotlight
Object story: Goa’s First Railway
The scene depicted in this artwork portrays the tail end of the downfall of the once mighty Portuguese empire in India
Films
Jethro Buck’s Wild Worlds
A film aboutby Sarmaya for an December 2024 show by Waswo x Waswo at the Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Spotlight
Fantastic Beasts – Second Edition
For our 40th issue of Spotlight, we’re revisiting a theme we first explored back in 2019: the magnificent beasts who have charmed us with their form and spirit over the ages.
Quizzes
Ganesha: The God & The Legend
Test yourself on the mythology, art, culture and food inspired by Lord Ganesha
Spotlight
The Emperor & The Hawk
Cleverly hidden in the design of a silver coin is the story of Mughal emperor Jahangir’s lifelong fascination with birds of prey
Spotlight
Under The Skin – Dharavi’s Lost Leather Artisans
A third-generation ‘Bombay-Tamil’ narrates a personal history of Dharavi’s leather industry and its vanished ‘tholwadis’
Reads
Sarmaya Zodiac 2024
All through 2024, explore the Sarmaya collection through the 12 sun signs of the zodiac. Updated every month, from Feb 2024 – Jan 2025
Sarmaya @School
Sarmaya x Sanctuary Asia Kids for Tigers
On 19 July 2024, Sarmaya organised a puppet-making workshop for the Kids for Tigers event by Sanctuary Asia at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai. This was our second collaboration with the conservation organisation. Over 60 students from various schools across the city participated in the workshop, which was inspired by… Read more »
Quizzes
Quiz: Ancient Indian Scripts
Ancient Indian scripts hold the key to secrets from our past that still being unravelled today. Take our quiz learn about these rich texts
Saturdays at Sarmaya
Custodians of Culture
On 25 May, we hosted a full house for Saturdays at Sarmaya at our archive in Mumbai. Our guests enjoyed getting up close with contemporary art, archival photos and historical documents relating to the courtesans of India. It was a delighted group of art-lovers who gathered for this session, which included interactive activities that encouraged… Read more »
Talks
‘Morality, Diplomacy, and Power Dynamics: Courtesans of India’ by Madhur Gupta
“These courtesans were artists who were carriers of the nation’s enormous history, creating cultural movements by their strokes and the turnings of their wrists. At the core of the institutionals values of courtesans lay a deeper, divine purpose of uplifting the mundane world of mortals, allowing them to envision the bigger picture.” Madhur Gupta on… Read more »
Spotlight
How to read history that hasn’t been written yet
Inspired by a 150-year-old sepia photograph, a museum professional explores how to fill in the blanks of history through an anti-caste perspective
Quizzes
Indian monuments that time forgot
Take our quiz on forgotten, sidelined or destroyed monuments and acquaint yourself with an unseen India.
Talks
‘Music Makers in the Gramophone Era: The Women on Record Project’ by Vidya Shah
“In the beginning, many artists had an inhibition that acoustic technology, or later the microphone, could secretly siphon off all the goodness and power of their voice, just as ‘making soup out of meat and vegetables robs them of their nutrients!” Vidya Shah delivered a lecture for Sarmaya Talks on 26th April 2024, at Jaan Joss,… Read more »
Spotlight
Is this the first ever ‘rupee’ coin?
A silver coin issued by Mughal ruler Akbar is likely the first ever coin to carry the word ‘rupee’
Talks
‘The Unknown Story of the First INA’s Espionage Wing’ by Vijay Balakrishnan
“The story of the Indian National Army (INA), and its secret espionage wing is relatively unknown. My purpose in writing this book is to let the world know of the extraordinary unsung sacrifices of men like my grand-uncle as they navigated a shadowy hall-of-mirrors with blurred lines between friend and foe, while hastening the end… Read more »
Talks
‘The Ahom Dynasty: Genesis, Continuity and Legacy’ by Arup Kumar Dutta
‘In 1228 CE, some Shan or Tai warriors, led by a brave leader named Sukapha, left their homes in northern Myanmar and journeyed to Upper Assam. Here they set up the nucleus of what would become the powerful Ahom empire. For nearly six centuries, the Ahom kingdom spanned a greater part of the Brahmaputra Valley.… Read more »
Spotlight
“These women were the Madhuri and Sridevi of their times”
Accomplished Odissi dancer Madhur Gupta narrates the history of India’s courtesans, once the most glamourous celebrities of the land