Odyssey of the Rupee
The Indian Rupee turned 75 this year and we’re marking the milestone with a landmark exhibition at Sarmaya, curated by Dr Shailendra Bhandare
Mumbai
Panoramic View of the Elphinstone Circle, Bombay
The Elphinstone Circle was a large garden complex in South Bombay, laid out in 1869 and completed in 1872. With the support of then-governor Lord Elphinstone, the green space known as Bombay Greens was converted into a circle surrounded by buildings, with walkways and trees planted throughout and an ornamental fountain in the center. The… Read more »
High Seas, Open Roads – Virtual Exhibition
Experience a virtual version of our travel-themed exhibition, which launched in January 2025 at Sarmaya, Mumbai
In The Dappled Light
Our show in Mumbai explores the expansive role of India’s natural world on all human endeavours
Bombay Painters & Poets Crawl
On the 25th of January, 2025, as part of the outreach of Sarmaya’s ongoing exhibition High Seas, Open Roads, we hit the town for a Bombay Painters & Poets Crawl. Conceptualised and led by Saranya Subramanian, the crawl kicked off at Flora Fountain. The group wound their way through the alleys and bylanes of Fort,… Read more »
Map it Out: A journey of discovery for kids!
On 18th January 2025, we were delighted to welcome some excited kids at Sarmaya for our event ‘Map it Out’’. Sarmaya’s education team led them on a walkthrough of our exhibition ‘High Seas, Open Roads!’, where we explored how artists reflected on the world around them. Here the kids surveyed a wide range of artefacts… Read more »
Ganesha: The God & The Legend
Test yourself on the mythology, art, culture and food inspired by Lord Ganesha
Under The Skin – Dharavi’s Lost Leather Artisans
A third-generation ‘Bombay-Tamil’ narrates a personal history of Dharavi’s leather industry and its vanished ‘tholwadis’
Indian monuments that time forgot
Take our quiz on forgotten, sidelined or destroyed monuments and acquaint yourself with an unseen India.
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
‘Folk of the Salt-Spray’ by André Baptista
‘One of the lesser-known communities of Mumbai, the East Indian Christians have an intriguing history. Let’s delve into questions around their identity to understand the innate, vibrant pluralism of this community, and the many cultural nuances woven into its fabric.’ – André Baptista for Sarmaya Talks. Dr. André Baptista is an archaeologist, historian and cultural… Read more »
‘All Access Heritage: Why Mumbai needs an open-door policy’ by Fiona Fernandez
“For a metropolis that is viewed as a world city, we woefully lack access and entry to several key landmarks and places of heritage value. We need to stir curiosity and trigger engagement about our rich and diverse local history among young minds and adults alike .” – Fiona Fernandez. Fiona Fernandez is an Associate… Read more »
Object of the week: A Frenchman’s view of Princely India
Over six years spent travelling around India, Louis Rousselet learned photography and captured some of the most beautiful scenes of the Subcontinent, from the Himalayas to the Nilgiris and from coast to coast
Bombay in the Days of Queen Anne, Being an Account of the Settlement written by John Burnell
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 »
Art and Wonderment
On 27th August 2022, we collaborated with Art and Wonderment, an arts engagement organisation led by Alisha Sadikot and Nishita Zachariah. We opened out our collection to a group of arts enthusiasts for a session on the diverse art traditions and histories of the Subcontinent, seen through the lens of a curated selection of objects… Read more »
Bombay Imagined: The City of Unrealised Dreams by Robert Stephens
This intensely illustrated talk invites you to eavesdrop on previously unheard dialogues between the built and unbuilt, the city as it was and as it might have been.
Heritage walk on Mumbai’s water histories with Akanksha Gupta
A unique heritage walk led by Akanksha Gupta helped us understand Mumbai’s history, politics and culture through an exploration of the routes water takes to reach our homes
Traders (Marwarree Brokers), Bombay
This photograph of traders from the Marwari community was taken by William Johnson in late 19th century Bombay. The port city of Bombay attracted early photographers, and the first official Indian photography organisation was founded here in 1854. William was a founding member of the Bombay Photographic Society and one of the first to produce… Read more »
Parsee (Parsi) Ladies, Bombay
This photograph of the women from the Parsi community was taken by William Johnson in late 19th century. With the British granting freedom of religion and equality before the law to migrants and minority communities, the city saw an influx of Parsis, who went on to play a pivotal role in the making of metropolitan… Read more »
Palanquin Bearers, Bombay
This photograph of the Palanquin Bearers was taken by William Johnson in Bombay. The root-word for the English ‘palanquin’ is the same as the one for the Hindi ‘palang’: ‘palyanka’, Sanskrit for bed. Baked into the word itself is a promise of comfort. Palanquins were the transport of choice for wealthy travellers in 18th- and… Read more »