Indian maps, myths & travel legends
In conversation with professional geographer Dr Manosi Lahiri about the ways in which travellers have helped to draw the map of India
Maps
Mughal Sarais, where caravans & cultures mingled
Along the ancient Silk Road and the historic Grand Trunk Road lay a series of rest-stops and inns called sarais where caravans of travellers, pilgrims and traders could break their journey
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
Map of part of the Coromandel Coast, Showing the French Settlements of Pondicherry and Caricall and the Danish Settlement of Tranquebar
This topographical map of a part of the Coromandel Coast depicts Pondicherry and its surrounding territories. Tranquebar was a small town on the Carnatic Coast. Fort Dansborg at Tranquebar was established by the Danes in 1620 and sold to the British in 1845. The Danish East India Company lost out to the British, who cornered… Read more »
The East Indies including more particularly The British Dominions on the Continent of India
This historic paper map entitled ‘The East Indies including more particularly the British Dominions on the Continent of India’, by John Blair ; T. Kitchin, senr. sculpsit., was published by in 1773. It covers India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and portions of Maldives, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Burma, and Indonesia. The map shows features… Read more »
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 »
Carte Du Bengale (Map of Bengal)
This map, Carte Du Bengale, is attributed to Arkstée & Merkus, but it is based on a map by French geographer Loui Brion de la Tour, who also made the Atlas Géneral, Civil et Ecclésiastique’, 1766, and ‘Atlas Général’, 1790-98. The eighteenth century was a time of conflict between the English and French in both… Read more »