Reads - Sarmaya

Frozen Music – Landmarks from Iconic Hindi Film Songs

Here we share photographs from our archive, some over a hundred years old, of these iconic Indian landmarks and the unforgettable songs that will always stir our memories of the place

The mythical origins of shadow puppets

Made in China, made in India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, or even Turkey, the tradition of shadow puppets has survived for a long time, the second century BC, some say. But as is also custom, scholars have many disagreements on its origins. Folklorist Stuart Blackburn suggests that this tradition, like Buddhism, travelled to the rest of… Read more »

‘The Dalai Lama, An Extraordinary Life,’ by Alexander Norman: an excerpt

For most people worldwide, Tibet was hardly a major issue. Many had heard of the Dalai Lama, but few know much about his homeland. It was therefore a matter of deepest regret to the Tibetan leader that, when news of the Land of Snows did finally make headlines, the picture it presented should be so… Read more »

Now quarantine reading: The real Nur, a quest for spirituality and the accession of 600 states

After discussion sped towards the end of the zoom call, the part where people start talking candidly and share recipes or book and binge recommendations, we were mildly concerned that we were all consuming the same things. Faced with the possibility that we were caught up not in a trend, but an echo chamber, we… Read more »

Amazing Stories From Kerala’s Maritime History

Come with us on a journey of Kerala’s maritime history

Now reading: The transition of the British from trader to ruler and other history lessons

Five unputdownable reads that bring all those boring history classes to life with warmth, spirit and great invention

The man behind History Men

In this interview with the author of ‘History Men’ TCA Raghavan, we talk about the ways in which history has been written, understood and shaped in the Subcontinent

The Wonderfully Weird World of Waswo X. Waswo

We discover the story behind his unusual name, the method behind those highly collaborative miniatures and the rest of one American’s unforgettable tryst with India

Now Reading: An Interview From the ’80s With Lessons For Today

The book is full of profound insights communicated in the simplest of words

Now Reading: Families, the good, the bad and the insane

Three novels about three Indian families, warts and all

Now Reading: Divine gardens, a unflinching memoir & a feast of art

Click on the badge above to follow Pavitra’s Picks for Now Reading Paradise Gardens by Monty Don & Derry Moore The English word “Paradise” actually comes from the Persian word “Pardis” meaning a walled or enclosed garden. And Monty Don’s book Paradise Gardens, with photographs by Derry Moore, explores the most beautiful walled gardens in this book… Read more »

Now Reading: Highly literary SMSes, searing YA fiction & tales of the rich

Fiction to cure everything from snobbery to apathy

Now Reading: A very human story, colonial myths & Delhi nostalgia

The Sarmaya founder’s favourite books on a city, a country and a species

Now reading: Threesome with a god, tree science & murder in Bombay

If you love historical fiction, you’re in the right place

Now Reading: Mughal feminist, Gond forests & maps of whimsy

In the first of our new series on books, Sarmaya’s brand custodian lists her favourite monsoon reads

Through The Patient Lens: 19th-Century Images of India

It is tough for us today to imagine the enormous excitement in the late 19th century over what India was really like.

A Play of Shadows

Witness a magical storytelling performance of Tholubommalaata and let your imagination take flight as the evening light suffuses the stage and the colourful leather puppets are seized with a fierce energy

The Man Behind Sarmaya

Meet Paul Abraham, the collector who turned a childhood hobby into a lifelong quest for beauty and wonder. For the story of Sarmaya is the story of one man following his curiosity through the history and art landscapes of India.

The Slave Who Built a City

By Jonathan Gil Harris
The fascinating tale of modern-day Aurangabad and its creation by a former Abyssinian slave and rival of Emperor Jahangir, Malik Ambar, who designed the city and its complex water supply system, and taught the Marathas guerrilla warfare.