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 »
In conversation with professional geographer Dr Manosi Lahiri about the ways in which travellers have helped to draw the map of India
This is a decorative map of British India published in 1851 by John Tallis and Company, renowned for their intricate maps, prized for their decorative vignettes showing the people and landscape of the region. In this map the Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay Presidencies are indicated, along with planned railway lines. While the first passenger train… Read more »
This map titled ‘Carte De L’Inde En Deca Du Gange Comprenant L’Indoustan &C.’, produced by a French cartographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1773) was published in Petit Atlas Maritime, a part of a five-volume atlas published by him. It illustrates Northern region of the subcontinent of modern-day India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. By the late eighteenth century,… Read more »
This is the 1st Ed. No. LXXII, in the Second series of the Bombay in the Days of Queen Anne. As a official of the East India Service, John Brunell arrived to the subcontinent in the latter half of the 17th century. This book has an introduction by Samuel T. Sheppard and includes Brunell’s two… Read more »
This detailed map of Nagapattinam (previously spelt, Negapatam) was created by the Office of the Trigonometric Branch, Survey of India, Dehra Dun. The map gives a complete overview of the city, highlighting its water tanks, churches, and temples. Owing to the enormous endeavours of the Survey of India, precision in documenting became more important as mapping… Read more »
Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire by Robert Orme (1728–1801) was Orme’s last publication. This edition of the book was published posthumously. In this, Orme describes the story of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707), and his efforts to conquer the Deccan. He focuses mainly on the expanding Maratha power under Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630-1680) and the onset of British… Read more »
This map, made by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664), a Dutch cartographer, illustrates the Bay of Bengal in detail and is one of the oldest sea maps. While it may appear disorienting, the inclusion of ‘Orixa’ and ‘Ceylon’ aid in establishing orientation, with Ceylon to the left of the map representing the south. The Dutch East India… Read more »
This map titled ‘Theatre de la Guerre sur la Cote de Coromandel’ [Theatre of War, on the Coromandel coast] was produced by Jakob van Schley (1715-1779) in the mid 18th century. Both practically and ideologically, maps began to play an increasingly crucial role in realising European nationalist and imperialist objectives. The battles during the Carnatic wars… Read more »
The Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit produced this map titled ‘Magni Mogolis Imperivm de Novo Correctum et Divisum Per’ in the early 18th century. Maps began to play an increasingly important role in realising European nationalist and imperialist ambitions, both practically and ideologically. This map shows the extent of the Mughal Empire in the early… Read more »
This map was produced by Christoph Weigel the Elder (1654-1725) in c. 1720 Many early cartographers did not travel to the sites they rendered on paper. As a result, early maps were a mix of reality and fiction reported by travellers and traders. Given that the Germans did not have active colonies in the Subcontinent… Read more »
This early 19th century map illustrates the division of Hindustan into ‘soubahs’, or administrative provinces, as listed in the late 16th century Mughal text, the Ain-i-Akbari. The map’s legend distinguishes Hindustan proper, the plains of northern India under the rule and administration of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, from the independent Deccan. In the South, the… Read more »
This rare book from late 18th century offers a look at the different kingdoms that were part of the highly strategic and viciously fought Anglo-Mysore wars. It includes 18 letters from 1779 to 1784 covering the British Army’s operations in India, as well as several illustrations of the Isle of France, and charts. Maps include… Read more »