Spotlight
Artist profile: Lena Lowis’s nostalgic botanical art
An exquisite collection of 19th-century botanical art that focuses on common-but-beautiful Indian flowers
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Guides
Mata-ni-Pachedi
From devotional offering to art, Mata-ni-Pachedi has continued to take new forms. We outline a brief history of this textile tradition and a community that has practiced and perfected it over centuries. READ MORE Colour speak Traditional Mata-ni-Pachedi paintings only featured three colours, each symbolising an aspect of divinity. Tap on the moving hotspots in… Read more »
Guides
Mata-ni-Pachedi: History of Gujarat’s moving shrines
From devotional offering to art, Mata-ni-Pachedi has continued to take new forms. We outline a brief history of this textile tradition and a community that has practiced and perfected it over centuries.
Collections
Khedda Silver Medal, Mysore
This silver medal dates back to 1960 and is attributed to the Mysore Khedda (Elephant Stockade). Khedda was a practice for centuries in India, where wild elephants were captured to be tamed and domesticated. In the Mysore Khedda, in Southern India, the Kabini river was a permanent capture site given its topography and having one… Read more »
Collections
Copper-Plate Inscription, Thiruchendur
This is an eighteenth-century copper plate inscribed in Tamil. It is a record dating back to 1760 CE that states the traders of villages, including Kottaru Aloorupettai, Sivakasi Virudhugupetti, and Sivathondu Maanadupettai, gave their monthly expenses for cotton, tobacco, and kaalchattai (trousers), as well as for the puja (worship ritual) of Maheshvara in the month… Read more »
Collections
Letter, Gulam Muhammad Sultan Sahib to Captain Peacock , 1868
This is a letter written by Prince Ghulam Muhammad Sultan, the fourteenth son of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the ruler of Mysore. The letter, dated 21st August 1868, is addressed to a British government official, Captain Peacock. After Tipu Sultan’s defeat in Seringapatam, the British deported the Sultan’s remaining family members to Calcutta. Prince Ghulam Muhammad… Read more »
Collections
A Lion Hunt
This is a brush drawing from the 18th century depicting a lion hunt and is attributed to the Mughal style. As symbols of imperial wealth and power, the Mughal painting tradition frequently depicted elephants and lions as subjects, especially in hunting scenes. This visual documentation suggests that artists from the Mughal ateliers accompanied the Emperor… Read more »
Collections
Elephant Rattle
This elephant rattle is made from bamboo and was used at the Mysore Khedda (Elephant Stockade). These devices, used as elephant rattles, are traditional percussion instruments known as bamboo clappers. Bamboo clappers are common across India and are known by different names. They are made from a thick piece of bamboo, which is split halfway… Read more »
Collections
The Birth of Christ
This later Mughal miniature shows the ‘Birth of Jesus Christ’ by an unidentified artist. True to the realm of Mughal miniatures of this time produced around European themes, the setup and backdrop remain entirely Indian. Women dressed in native ensembles and veils cater to the newborn as Mother Mary lies on a bed wrapped up… Read more »
Quizzes
Quiz: Arts of Gujarat
The arts and architecture of Gujarat reflect its vantage point as an ancient gateway for trade, migration, faith and more
Partnerships
The Hindu
We’re thrilled to start 2024 with the launch of Living Archive, a series of articles produced by Sarmaya for The Hindu. Starting Jan 2024, this monthly series will be published in the Sunday Magazine of the national newspaper. Each article will explore an idea embedded in Sarmaya’s collection of art and artefacts from the Indian… Read more »
Reads
A Proud Past: The Siddis of Gujarat
Let’s meet the modern-day Siddis, defined by centuries of history in Gujarat, Sufi spiritualism, and ancestral memories of Africa
Saturdays at Sarmaya
Traditional Indian art: Show and tell session
On 2nd December 2023, we invited visitors curious about Indian traditional art to our archive. In a show-and-tell session, we introduced them to some ancient storytelling artforms, from the Sarmaya collection. For this session, we explored Mithila, Pattachitra, Mata-ni-Pachedi and Tholu Bommalaata. Some of the prominent works that we presented belonged to renowned artists like… Read more »
Partnerships
Baadalghar
On 3 December 2023, we collaborated with Baadalghar, an art studio committed to community engagement, to present an interactive visual storytelling workshop, Documents of Today. Inspired by Sarmaya’s indigenous art collection, this three-hour workshop focused on the strength of art to narrate stories and document contextual histories and landscapes. The aim of this workshop was… Read more »
Reads
Rare Fabric: Gujarat’s lesser-known textile traditions
Shilpa Shah of the TAPI Collection shares generous insights—and stunning objects—that tell us a vivid story of Gujarat’s cultural tapestry
Talks
‘The Great War: Literary Responses in Prose and Poetry to the First World War’ by Dr Rakhshanda Jalil
“The Great War, or Jang-e-Azeem as the First World War was referred to, saw the service of over 1.3 million Indians of whom 74,000 never made it back home. For their families, the war was something they could never fathom. Soldiers from the Indian sub-continent won over 12,908 awards for bravery, including 11 Victoria Crosses.… Read more »
Talks
‘From Tokyo to Netaji’s Rani of Jhansi Regiment’ by Tanvi Srivastava
“In June 1943, Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay, a headstrong Indian teenager living in Japan during the Second World War, decides to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment after meeting Subhas Chandra Bose. She starts to jot down her thoughts in a diary, and thus begins one of the most significant personal accounts of the Indian freedom… Read more »
Quizzes
Quiz: Gujarat’s lions, India’s pride
Take our quiz to learn something new about the real Sher Khan
Spotlight
Surat nu jamaan – Gujarat’s food capital
If you’ve eaten in Surat, you’ve tasted salvation. And it’s all thanks to centuries of migration, trade and a happy collision of world cultures