Reads - Sarmaya

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.