Maps

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

Southern feast

Whether we’re talking geology, politics or culture, the historical region of the Deccan offers a sumptuous and varied feast for thought

Herschel’s Galaxy I

This artwork composed using gold leaf on paper is by Desmond Lazaro (b. 1968). It is inspired by the first modern image of the Milky way produced by William Hershel (1738-1822), a British astronomer, in 1785. Herschel mapped his observations from 600 locations while plotting the night sky section by section to create the model.… Read more »

Collecting art & artefacts

Sarmaya Founder Paul Abraham and Brand Custodian Pavitra Rajaram acquire objects to continually enrich our museum’s collection. In this Guide, they share some great advice with young collectors on how to engage meaningfully with the art and culture of India

Fort St. David with the French Attack, May 1758

The Fort St. David in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, was originally a British headquarters for southern India, as seen on this map. It was attacked by the French forces led by Dupleix. The fort was renovated by the French in 1782, but then it was captured by the British in 1785. The map highlights the areas… Read more »

Cloud over the landscape

“Cloud over the landscape” is a deep engagement with the subjectivity of maps and their inherent function as history-making devices.Using interventions like painting, erasing and burning the photographic image before it is transferred onto wood, artist Saju Kunhan creates room for accidents, mistranslations and loss of information. In elaborating on his method in the catalogue… Read more »

Trails & Tales

According to the prevailing view of cartography experts, maps can be categorised into two types: topographic or general maps, which might help you find your way around an area, and thematic maps, which serve to highlight specific features or a particular event, for eg, a battle plan. Regardless of their type, all maps tell a… Read more »

Early Indian Maps

Poring over beautiful maps from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries from our cartography collection, we explore the art and science that went into the evolution of this discipline

Drawing Lines – Early maps of India

Using 17th, 18th and 19th century maps from the Sarmaya collection, let’s look at how the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent evolved in response to European imperialism

Zarina Hashmi and the idea of home

Witness to the horrors of Partition as a child, Zarina dedicated her decades-long career to exploring the idea of home and belonging, and the lingering pain of displacement

Mapping Mirages: The art of Saju Kunhan

Walking the path of the historian, archivist and craftsman, Saju Kunhan creates room for cultures, centuries and civilisations to constantly collide and create new meanings

The Residency Palace and C. of Lucknow

Edward Weller’s engraving is part of a series of maps from around the world published in the British Weekly Dispatch newspaper. The city of Lucknow is remembered as the site of prolonged siege during the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion. Weller’s engraving emphasises the dividing lines within the recently acquired settlement, highlighting the separation of the British… Read more »

The City of Kochi located on the coast of Malabar

This map, whose title translates to The City of Kochi located on the coast of Malabar, was created in the early 1700s to help sea-traders travelling from other regions to Coetsjien (Kochi). The map was a hand-coloured copper engraving by Francois Valentijn, an explorer and naturalist from the Netherlands who wrote about the history of… Read more »

India (Northern Part)

This map titled ‘India (northern Part)’ highlights the northern divisions of territory into presidencies and native states. The Bengal Presidency is marked in red including the lieutenant-governorships of the North-West provinces, Oudh, Punjab and Central Provinces; Bombay Presidency is marked in green, Madras in Yellow and native states in orange. After significant territorial acquisitions were… Read more »

Koninkryk van Bengale (Kingdom of Bengal)

This map by Dutch publisher Pieter van der Aa is from his book, Royaumma de Grand Mogol, published in Paris in 1729. It is based on William Baffin’s map, ‘INDOISTANI A Description of East India, conteyninge th’ Empire of The Great Mogoll,’ that was published in 1619. Baffin’s map was the first modern map of… Read more »

Northern India including the Presidency of Calcutta

This is a decorative, mid-19th century map of Northern India drawn and engraved by J. Rapkin (vignettes by A. H. Wray & J. H. Kernot) and published in John Tallis’s Illustrated Atlas (London & New York: John Tallis & co, c.1851). The Illustrated Atlas, published from 1849 to 1853, was the last decorative world atlas.… Read more »