Museum objects, artifacts, and archival items from the Sarmaya collection.
Fishing in India is a community based profession, and the fishemen communities in Tamil Nadu comprise Mukkuvar, Paravar, Chetti, and Pattinavar among others. The three native fishermen in the photograph are seen here on the Madras(now Chennai) shoreline donning the local attire. Their traditional boat, known as the kattumaram was the first two hull boat… Read more »
Inscription Recto “Bourne 1351. THE MOTEE MUSJID. DELHI.1351”. This is an image of the Moti Masjid situated inside the Red Fort in Delhi. It was built by Aurangzeb and served as his private mosque, the entre structure is built of marble with inlays in black stone. The photograph shows the front of the mosque including… Read more »
Samuel Bourne’s Himalayan expedition was an arduous one as he pursued photography and documented the untouvhed landscapes and sights in India. This photograph from the 1860s shows the giant or King fern, flora typical to this region.
This photograph of the Wanga Valley by Samuel Bourne captured in 1863 showing the Himlayan glaciers. During his three Himalayan expeditions, Bourne photo documented landscapes in compoistions and artistic styles that appealed to the Victorian notions of the ‘picturesque’ and unusual landscapes such as this image formed a category in itself.
This is a photograph of the Nakki talao, Mount Abu, from James Burgess’ book ‘Photographs of Architecture and Scenery in Gujarat and Rajputana’ taken by Colin Murray in 1872. The hill station of Mount Abu is an important place of worship for Jain pilgrimages. It is a popular tourist attaraction, renowned for the group of… Read more »
Photograph of a glacier in Kashmir taken by Samuel Bourne in 1863. During his three Himalayan expeditions, Bourne photo documented landscapes in compoistions and artistic styles that appealed to the Victorian notions of the ‘picturesque’ and unusual landscapes such as this image formed a category in itself.
This is a photograph taken by Lala Deen Dayal & Sons of a procession during the investiture ceremony of Maharaja Sir Madho Rao Scindia of Gwalior. They were commissioned by the Maharaja to cover the event. A few commoners and soldiers assembled at the Gwalior fort during the procession.
This is one of the outer walls of the Hazara Rama Temple in Hampi, illustrating a procession of horses and elephants. The lowest and the second lowest register feature these processions, while the upper registers feature warriors, musicians and dancers. The Hazara Rama temple was built in the 15th century inside the royal enclosure of… Read more »
This is a photograph of the bull pavilion at the Brihadeshwara Temple in Tanjore, taken by Samuel Bourne in 1869. The pavilion stands to the east of the main temple shrine housing the 13 feet high monotlithic structure of Nandi – the white bull associated with Shiva (to whom the temple is dedicated).
The Chennakesava Temple was constructed on the banks of the Yagachi River by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire. The main deity in this temple is Chennakesava, an avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu. This photo shows the entrance to the shrine.
This very striking picture represents the temple of the Sacred Tank of the Shravans, or Jains, situated at Bellagolla, in Mysore. The building is dedicated to Bhadra Bahn, a holy man of the Jains who lived in the fourth century. On the summit of the hill which rises to a height of 3,250 feet may… Read more »
Halebid (ancient Dwarasamudra), a small town in the Hassan district, was once the capital of the Hoysala dynasty of the southern Deccan which flourished from the 12th to the 14th Century. Invasions by armies of the Delhi Sultanate led to its decline by the mid-14th Century. The Hoysalas were prolific temple builders and the site… Read more »
This is a late 19th century photograph of a group of musicians at Karle Caves by an unidentified photographer. On the backdrop can be seen buddha figures meditating, and a row of elephants all carved onto the monolithic structure. The musicians appear to be in motion playing an assortment of instruments, which include Nagaras, and… Read more »
This photograph was taken by Samuel Bourne of the distinctive huts of a Toda Mund (village) at Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. Traditionally pastoralist, the Todas in the past lived in thatched houses spread over the slopes of the Nilgiris. This picture is one of many examples of ethnographic photographs captured at… Read more »
This is a late 19th century photograph of the Shaniwar Wada in Pune by an unidentified photographer. Shaniwar Wada, was once the royal residence of the Peshwas. In 1828 a great fire started inside the palace complex tarnished most of the fort, leaving only the heavy granite ramparts, teak gateways and some building ruins. The… Read more »
This book commemorates and celebrates the assumption of the title Empress of India by Her Majesty the Queen. It documents the historical Imperial Assemblage at Delhi which took place on lst January, 1877.
This book gives an elaborate account of India which includes her history, topography, geology, climate, population, chief cities and provinces, tributaries and protected states, military power and resources, religion, education, crime, land tenures, staple products, government, finance, and commerce.
The book gives us an insight into the position of the Maharaja of Mysore during the colonial period. The author, Thomas Evans Bell (1825 – 1887) was an English Indian army officer and writer who used the pseudonyms Undecimus and Indicus and wrote extensively on Indian affairs. He was a stern critic of the East… Read more »
This is a brief historical record of the various chiefs and ruling princes who attended the Imperial Assemblage of 1912. Called the “Delhi Durbar” after the Mughal usage of the term, this was an official imperial event that was held in the Coronation Park, Delhi to celebrate the coronation of King George V and Queen… Read more »
Robert M. Grindlay served the British East India Company from 1804-1820, in India. A self-taught amateur artist, he made many sketches and illustrations recording the landscape and life of early 19th century India. These illustrations were later published and copied in engravings. This book is such a collection of coloured engravings. The topics in the… Read more »