Spotlight
Object story: Why Indian soldiers fought a war in Kabul
Between November 1878 and October 1880, the British army in India fought a series of battles for geo-political control over Afghanistan. One photographer followed along
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Spotlight
What is disruptive tech?
From minting money to printing books, and from taking photographs to making art, technology has dictated the evolution of many a human endeavour
Spotlight
Game-Changers
For the 37th issue of Spotlight, we’re taking a look at disruptive technologies that made history. These include innovations in the field of photography, coin-making, art and publishing that didn’t simply change the game, they threw out the rulebook and gave the players superpowers!
Talks
‘Ilkal Chronicles: A 7th-century weave in modern India’ by Vrunda Sekhar
“Ilkal sarees are the most affordable staple wear of the women of North Karnataka and Southern Maharashtra. This heritage weave is now on its way to being recognised nationally.” – Vrunda Sekhar for Sarmaya Talks. Vrunda Sekhar is a handloom specialist from Karnataka. She has been working with weavers in the research, revival and marketing… Read more »
Talks
‘Lost and Found: Three centuries of hand-block printing in India’ by Ritu Sethi
“Through this illustrated talk we will cover the reasons for the deleterious decline of hand-block printing traditions in the 18th Century and their revival and regeneration in the India of today.” – Dr. Ritu Sethi for Sarmaya Talks. Dr Ritu Sethi is the editor of Global InCH, the online international journal of intangible cultural heritage,… Read more »
Spotlight
Eggs, salt & the delicious decades of albumen print photos
How albumen, a sticky substance found in egg whites, took the elite European hobby of photography and turned into a global phenomenon
Quizzes
Take The Indian Railways Quiz!
Test your knowledge about the earliest days of Indian railways and some milestone train journeys
Talks
‘A New History of India’ by Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Shobita Punja & Toby Sinclair
For this special edition of Sarmaya Talks, our founder Paul Abraham was in conversation with two of the three authors of A New History of India – From Its Origins To The Twenty-First Century, Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee and conservationist Toby Sinclair. Art historian Dr Shobita Punja lent her brilliant insights to A New History…:… Read more »
Spotlight
Song of The Palanquin-Bearers
Let’s tackle some FAQs to better appreciate this fascinating, historical mode of travel and the people who made it possible.
Spotlight
Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes of a royal Indian tour
By ship, by yacht, by elephant and by camel. We follow the heir to Queen Victoria on an elaborate tour of India in 1875
Spotlight
Object of the week: The diplomat & the dodo
Thomas Herbert’s best-selling 17th-century travelogue details an enchanting encounter with a dodo, only years before the bird went extinct
Guides
Shatrunjaya pata
Painted on cotton cloths, Shatrunjaya patas map the physical and divine characteristics of the sacred hill in Palitana, Gujarat
Guides
Maps of devotion – The Jain art of Shatrunjaya pata
Painted on cotton and imbued with piety, Shatrunjaya patas map the physical and divine characteristics of the sacred hill in Palitana, Gujarat
Spotlight
Quiz: How well do you know the ancient caves of India?
In ancient India, cave complexes sheltered travellers and traders too besides priests and monks. Take our quiz to learn about these rock-cut rest-stops
Spotlight
Object of the week: A Frenchman’s view of Princely India
Over six years spent travelling around India, Louis Rousselet learned photography and captured some of the most beautiful scenes of the Subcontinent, from the Himalayas to the Nilgiris and from coast to coast
Spotlight
Object of the week: Jagannath’s Puri temple inspired this art form
Odisha’s Pattachitra paintings are rooted in the culture of the seaside town of Puri and, more specifically, in its legendary Jagannath temple
Spotlight
Pristine views of the Ganga – World Environment Day 2023
The Ganga is one of the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. But this wasn’t always the case
Spotlight
Indian maps, myths & travel legends
In conversation with professional geographer Dr Manosi Lahiri about the ways in which travellers have helped to draw the map of India
Reads
India, G20 & the repatriation of cultural artefacts
Conversations on the repatriation of museum objects continue to evolve and encounter new complexities
Spotlight
Object of the week: Notes from a solo woman traveller in India
Fanny Parkes’s richly illustrated journals give us a sense of the freedom that the author experienced as a woman traveller in 19th-century India