Forgotten Files

A lesser-known India

/ read / February 19, 2024 / Spotlight

The portrait of an unnamed subject. An ancient script that only a vanishing few can read. An artist who never really got her due. Over the next two months, we’ll bring you some invisibilised or lesser-known facets of Indian history and art. From the Sarmaya collection, we’ll be showcasing coins that are over a thousand years old, maps of places that don’t exist anymore, modern art from a newly independent India and other objects that have much to still teach us about our own heritage.

“These women were the Madhuri and Sridevi of their times”

Accomplished Odissi dancer Madhur Gupta narrates the history of India’s courtesans, once the most glamourous celebrities of the land

A feminist modern art maestro

The paintings of B Prabha capture the hopes and anguish of a woman making art in a newly independent India

Who paints Pichwais & other mysteries

Let’s start with the fact that the word ‘Pichwai’ itself is a misnomer

Artist profile: Lena Lowis’s nostalgic botanical art

An exquisite collection of 19th-century botanical art that focuses on common-but-beautiful Indian flowers

Forgotten names on India’s map

India has seen the names of cities, rivers and even roads changed to reflect political realities, contemporary national narratives and the drawing of new borders. Take our quiz to see how well you know some of these forgotten monikers from the past