Mohandas K. Gandhi has been described as ‘an artist of non-violence,’ crafting as he did a set of practices of the self and politics that earned him the mantle of Mahatma, ‘the great soul.’ His philosophy and praxis of satyagraha, non-violent civil disobedience, has been analyzed extensively. But is satyagraha also an aesthetic regime, with practices akin to a work of art? Is Gandhi, then, an artist of disobedience? Sumathi Ramaswamy explores these questions with the help of India’s modern and contemporary artists who have over the past century sought out the Mahatma as their muse and invested in him across a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to video installation and digital production. At a time when Gandhi is a hallowed but hollow presence, why have they lavished so much attention on him? A hundred and fifty years after his birth, Gandhi is hyper visible across the Indian landscape from tea stalls and government offices to museums and galleries. This is ironical given that the Mahatma appeared to have had little time for the visual arts or for artists for that matter. Yet fascinatingly, the visual artist has emerged as Gandhi’s conscience-keeper, reminding others of the meaning of the Mahatma in his own time and today. In so doing, these artists also reveal why this most disobedient of ‘modern’ icons has grabbed their attention, resulting in a veritable art of disobedience as an homage to one of the twentieth century’s great prophets of disobedience.
“It is fortunate that a scholar with Professor Abbi’s tenacity, as well as her scientific credentials, was available and willing to conduct this work… The volume is a superb introduction for the layperson to the wonderful world that Professor Abbi has opened up for us.” – Bernard Comrie, Santa Barbara, California.
“For two decades now, Abbi has marshalled the full intellectual and strategic weight of her training, disciplinary expertise and socio-cultural capital to document, preserve and share with the world the voices, songs, stories and laughter of the Great Andamanese.” – Mark Turin, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
The Andaman Islands — Great Andaman, Little Andaman, and North Sentinel Islands have been home for milleniums to four tribes: the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Sentinelese. Their languages are known by the same name as that of the tribes. ‘Great Andamanese’ is a generic term representing ten languages among a family of languages that were once spoken by ten different tribes living in the north, south, and middle of the Great Andaman Islands. These languages were mutually intelligible like a link in a chain.
However, today, Great Andamanese is a moribund language of the only-surviving pre-Neolithic tribe, breathing its last breath. When a language is on the verge of extinction, its history, culture, ecological base, knowledge of the biodiversity, ethno-linguistic practices, and the identity of its community — everything is endangered. This is what prompted Prof. Anvita Abbi to conduct a research study to give life to the lost oral heritage of the vanishing world of the Great Andamanese.
Voices from the Lost Horizon is a collection of a number of folk tales and songs of the Great Andamanese. These stories and songs represent the first-ever collection rendered to the Prof. Abbi and her team by the Great Andamanese people in local settings. The compilation comes with audio and video recordings of the stories and songs to retain the originality and orality of the narratives.
The exquisite chain-stitch embroideries of Gujarat’s Mochi community are found in museum and private collections the world over, but the origins of the Mochis and their craftsmanship are rarely explored. This book is the first to delve deeply into the history of chain-stitch embroidery in India and its connections to the Mochi or shoe-maker community.
This work focusses on chain-stitch embroideries from the 18th to 20th centuries in the renowned TAPI collection of textiles, with many pieces having direct links both to Gujarati royal families and the lineage of Mochi craftsmen and women. The previously unknown but significant role of the women of the Mochi community in creating embroidery pieces is also explored.
The catalogue of images displays a wide range of exquisitely embroidered pieces ranging from Jain manuscript covers to portraits, items of clothing, fans, and furnishings, such as floor spreads, wall hangings and tent panels. The accompanying essays provide the background history of the Mochis and their work and also shed fresh light on chain-stitch embroideries in museums and private collections previously thought to be from the Mughal period. The book also gives an account of the contemporary scene, in which chain-stitch embroidery has found new directions and audiences worldwide.
The textiles here have been organized by several broad categories, beginning with type, and then by area of origin, dating and style. First are ikats and prints from India: the ikats woven in silk as “double ikats” and known as patola, and two prints that are cotton chintz. Though made in India, these textiles were all found in Sumatra, with the patola being highly-prized heirlooms used ceremonially, and the prints being used widely in trade across Indonesia from Sumatra to the Eastern Islands.
Next are ikats and other woven textiles organized by origin, moving West to East, from Sumatra to Borneo, Sulawesi, Bali, and Timor. For all of these pieces, the material was hand spun or commercial cotton, silk, or sometimes a mixture of the two.
Lastly are batiks, mostly from Java. The first three are the oldest batiks in this collection, each of which has been analyzed by radiocarbon dating and found to originate in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively. These batiks are made on hand spun cotton.
The batiks here are from Sumatra and Java (the great mother-temple of batik artistry), ranging in age, after the proto-batiks described above, from the early 19th century to mid-20th century. They vary in style from the most traditional, including those distinctive in color and pattern from the kratons (palaces) of the sultans, Indian influences from chintz and other Indian imports, to Chinese-inspired depictions of animals, insects, plants and flowers, to French-inspired Art Nouveau mostly via Batik Belanda.
This collection of Indonesian textiles and some related Indian textiles that were popular and influential in Indonesian usage and design came together in a series of collecting periods spanning nearly 40 years.
No country, apart from India, is as closely allied with the Buddha’s travels as Sri Lanka, which was visited thrice by the Buddha and received corporal relics and a branch of the bodhi tree after his death. Today the Buddha’s eye-tooth is venerated daily by thousands in Kandy and regarded as a priceless relic.
Buddhism is not the only religion to have influence the island, as another major pilgrimage spot is Kataragama, a site devoted to a Hindu God, while Christianity and Islam are also part of the mix. From Europe, the Portuguese, Dutch, and English added new spiritual layers in a colonial period that stretched nearly three centuries. As a result, understanding the country, through the lens of sacred sites provides a special glimpse into this unique civilisation.
Art for Baby is India’s first medically vetted art book designed to stimulate cognitive development in newborns (0-3 months) while introducing them to contemporary art. Since babies at this age can only see black, white, and shades of grey, this high-contrast picture book—featuring works by leading Indian artists—enhances their early visual recognition and engagement.
Created by Rudritara Shroff, Art for Baby includes contributions from Dhruvi Acharya, Jyoti Bhatt, Jyotsna Bhatt, Jogen Chowdhury, Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, N.S. Harsha, Bijoy Jain, Reena Saini Kallat, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Manish Nai, Amol K. Patil, Gigi Scaria, and Sudarshan Shetty. The accompanying flashcards offer insights into each artist’s work, fostering caregiver-baby bonding.
Proceeds from the book support children’s projects through UNICEF India and Outset UK. Original artworks featured in the book were exhibited at Christie’s in Mumbai and New York, raising $57,582 for these initiatives.
Praise for Art for Baby:
“This book is a testimony to Rudritara Shroff’s commitment to catalyzing healthy brain development and engaging young minds in creative pursuits.” – Vikram Patel, PhD, MBBS, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
“This book balances traditional infant learning therapies with a groundbreaking visual approach, enhancing artistic tendencies among newborns.” – Dr. Amin Jaffer, Museum Director and Art Historian,Curator of the Al Thani Collection, Paris
“The process of creating this book was exciting and enriching. It is remarkable that such a young person has taken this on!” – Shilpa Gupta, Indian Contemporary Artist, Mumbai
Studio SKLIM is an innovative and forward-thinking design firm skilled at crafting bespoke spatial solutions. Based in Singapore and with a presence in India, the firm believes that the fast-changing contemporary life demands a rethink and reorganization of existing spatial parameters in design.
Studio SKLIM: Evolving Techne features ten carefully selected projects that exemplify the firm’s approach as integrates traditional practices with modern technology and sustainable practices. The selected portfolio presented in this monograph encompasses a diverse range of built and unbuilt projects, including residential, hospitality, workplace, and education. Each project includes stunning full-colour photography, informative text, and explanatory diagrams to reveal the thought behind the design.
Originally published in 1999, and long out of print, this revised and updated version of Techniques of Drawing gives an overview of historical materials and drawing practices in Europe and Asia, using examples from the Ashmolean Museum, including highlights of the collection and lesser-known works. This up to date edition expands the text and illustrations to include non-western art, including Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Persian works of art, also including some more modern western art works than the first edition, which only covered western art from the 15th to 19th centuries. Expanding the scope of the book to include global perspectives, and the 20th century, involves new sections such as ‘Brush and Ink’ which includes Chinese landscape drawings, Japanese botanical works, as well as illustrating the famous Mughal Indian drawing by Abu’l Hasan in the Ashmolean collection. The book also includes a new section on gouache (opaque watercolor) which will be important for discussing Chinese, Indian and Persian paintings on paper.
Harmony: Essential Ayurveda for All is a celebration of India’s timeless wisdom offering an insight into India’s ancient traditions and practices for holistic well-being. Delving into Ayurveda, yoga and mindful living, Gita Ramesh introduces readers to the art of incorporating mindfulness, gratitude and self-awareness to enhance overall life quality.
The book will not only enlighten readers about time-honored practices but also offer practical tips to cultivating well-being in today’s fast-paced world.
Traditional Indian Jewellery: Beautiful People is a vast and detailed publication covering the importance of ritual adornment, and the popular design motifs featured in traditional Indian jewelry. Jewelry plays an important part in the everyday lives, important moments, festivals and religious aspects of Indian culture. It is not only girls and women who wear jewelry, but also boys, men, temple statues and even animals. The book excels in its detailed descriptions, which accompany the sumptuous array of images. We discover why enamel is used in the north of India, and how ancestral craftsmen pass their skills from generation to generation, especially the process and tradition of enamelling. The book covers in detail the meaning of the use of flowers and birds in Hindu-influenced jewelry, looking through the eyes of seventeenth-century European travelers who visited the rich Mogul courts. This publication is the result of thirty-five years of research – traveling, studying, and talking to many people across the entire subcontinent of India, as well as having had unprecedented access to goldsmiths and enamellers; being shown techniques known only to one family, which have been transferred from generation to generation; and being granted access to beautiful and never before seen Royal collections.
Traditional Indian Jewellery is a vast and detailed publication covering the rich heritage of Indian jewelry and its significance in past and present Indian society. Jewelry plays an important part in the everyday lives, important moments, festivals and religious aspects of Indian culture. It is not only girls and women who wear jewelry, but also boys, men, temple statues and even animals. The book excels in its detailed descriptions, which accompany the sumptuous array of images. We discover why enamel is used in the north of India, the origin and significance of gold, the significance of setting gems in a certain order, and jewellery’s spiritual importance. The book covers in detail the meaning of the use of flowers and birds in Hindu influenced jewelry, looking through the eyes of 17th century European travellers who visited the rich Mogul courts. This publication is the result of 35 years of research – traveling, studying, and talking to many people across the entire subcontinent of India, as well as having had unprecedented access to goldsmiths and enamellers; being shown techniques known only to one family, which have been transferred from generation to generation; and being granted access to beautiful and never before seen Royal collections.
For over 2000 years artists travelled throughout India, using painted picture scrolls to spread stories from the great Indian epics, as well as a wealth of stories about regional Gods and heroes and moral tales, amongst the most illiterate rural population. In the hands of the painters and singers, the picture scrolls became a portable cinema, projection screens for mythical knowledge and an incentive to listen to the songs whilst looking at the scrolls. In the same way that other oral art forms have dwindled and lost significance, the picture scroll artists also lost their public and their income. However, in the east of India – in West Bengal and Jharkhand – two closely related but distinctive picture scroll traditions have been upheld: the patua and the jadopatia. Political changes, technical innovations and social turmoil brought both these traditions face to face with the necessity to develop new survival strategies too. Accompanies an exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, from 30th August 2012.
“People just have to accept me the way I am. And I actually love myself now. I have learned to appreciate inner beauty more, even in other people. So I am trying to be proud of what is in my heart.” Flavia, Uganda.
Ann-Christine Woehrl visited survivors of fire and acid attacks in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda. In her portraits she does not present them as tragic victims, but as the personalities they have always been and still are despite their unimaginable suffering. The result is an insightful ‘almost private’ album that challenges and most of all inspires. It is an homage to women that master their unique lives with humility and heroic strength.
After the photographer had accompanied the 25-year-old Neehaari in India for ten days, Neehaari took off her veil, which she was wearing constantly to protect herself from being stared at in the streets, and said: “Today is my personal day of independence. I will stop hiding myself.”
By choosing a neutral black background for the portraits in the first part of the book, the photographer left out any reference to the social environment of these women and provided them with a safe and also special – even solemn – frame. In the second part of the book she takes a closer look at one survivor in each of the six countries capturing her everyday life, her will to survive, moments of hopelessness and despair as well as those of joy and happiness. The photographic work is framed by an essay and six interviews with the six women.
Text in English and German.
Contents: In/Visible; We Are Visible; My Name Is Farida; My Name Is Neehaari; My Name Is Chantheoun; My Name Is Renuka; My Name Is Nusrat; My Name Is Flavia.
More than any other civilization, China is renowned for its long tradition of ceramic production, from its terracotta and stoneware works in ancient times to the imperial porcelain manufactured at Jingdezhen from the end of the fourteenth century. These works have been admired and collected over centuries for their outstanding quality and refinement. Now two hundred masterpieces from prominent private collections around the world have been brought together for the first time in a new book. The Baur Collections in Geneva, formed between 1928 and 1951, and the Zhuyuetang Collection (the Bamboo and Moon Pavilion in Hong Kong), which has been building since the late 1980s, reveal the elegance and variety of imperial monochrome porcelain wares produced during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, which followed on from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) periods. These restrained pieces – both profane and sacred – exemplify the values of simplicity and modesty espoused by classical Chinese texts. With chapters devoted to the historical, cultural and technical contexts in which these pieces were made, this book will be a key reference on Chinese monochrome ceramics for all lovers of the subject, as well as students, researchers and connoisseurs.
Text in English and French with Chinese summaries.
How does one view the cumulative work of one’s life? For Gautam Bhatia, this publication is not merely a record of his personal or professional legacy, but rather it is a profound examination of his life in architecture.
According to the author, architecture is, by its very nature, a practice of contradictions. It operates under influences from sociology, design, engineering, landscape, anthropology, urbanism and civic practice in order to impose its will on the nature of space. This publication brings together several of the author’s built works, from commercial and residential buildings to large public spaces, from places of leisure to places of worship. Together with detailed essays, drawings and photographs, the author lays out his philosophy of design to illustrate how architecture became not just a conquest of the imagination, but also of reality.
To physically will a building onto a site is an act of design, but to set it free onto a course of transformation is an act of architecture – into a realm beyond the present, where the space is not just made, but lives and dies. The author demonstrates how his practice became not just a tool for solving problems, but also a mode of personal expression, making this volume an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of architecture alike.
Early photography flourished throughout India, with particular vigour in the city of Bombay. Long before the invention of moving pictures, and long before Bollywood, Bombay was the first Indian city where the photographic needs of the public including more affluent indigenous Indians as well as British were catered to. The aim of this publication in researching under-recognized photographers of the time like Narayen Daji, Hurrichund Chintamon, Shivashanker Narayen and Shapoor N. Bhedwar is to contribute new information for a local history that is still very much in formation. Following a roughly chronological trajectory, the volume looks at some of the earliest surviving Bombay photographs, and moves through differing eras to the end of the century, covering architectural studies and landscapes, portraits and ethnographic studies, and the documentation of trade and technological advancements that produced such spectacular pictures.
The Humayun’s Tomb-Nizamuddin area is inhabited by a vibrant local community being visited by millions of tourists and pilgrims each year. Conservation works being undertaken on the monuments in this area have aimed to re-define standard conservation practice in India by setting benchmarks in using a craft-based approach, setting documentation standards, using a participatory and multi-disciplinary approach, and using the conservation initiative as a tool towards improving quality of life for local communities.
This book aims to inform the general public about the discipline of conservation and the rationale behind the successful conservation initiative and makes an argument for change in conservation approach in India: from isolated monuments to an urban approach that includes concern for the setting; from a ‘tender-based’ approach to a quality-concerned method; amongst other factors.
Published in association with Aga Khan Trust for Culture, New Delhi.
Contents:
Introduction; Conservation Policy; Preparing for Conservation; Conserving a World Heritage Site; Making Conservation Meaningful; Planning the Next Steps.
Lightning was created in 1975, during a very controversial period in India’s history, to be the backdrop of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Emergency speech. Given the short time frame that M.F. Husain had to complete the work, it was titled Lightning, because it came about in a flash. The masterpiece was made up of twelve massive panels with ten wild, white horses charging through an open space. The significance of the painting is heightened not only by its sheer size or the brilliant rendering of its subject by the artist but also the time it was executed and the ideologies it stands for. The painting included depictions of family planning, farmers and their families, and a builder with an axe in hand. The work portrayed the political climate of the time in India post-separation. This book was conceived in honor of Husain, and various anecdotal stories and interviews on the painting form a part of this book. The selected authors invited to write on Lightning address the painting as well as its creator from various angles. It is an attempt to create a whole story around this masterpiece; every brush stroke and every inch of the canvas has a story, secretly tucked away in the midst of the powerfully rendered horses, that is left for the beholder to decipher. Published in association with TamarindArt, New York, and Asia Society Museum, New York. Contents: Foreword; Journey of Lightning, its Creator and the Progressive Movement; A Personal Commentary; Biography; The Advent of a Masterpiece; The Roar of Crores; East Meets East in Husain’s Horses; Like Thunder and Lightning; A Narrative of the Nation; Husain’s Journey; Troublesome Entanglements: Art and the Asian Nation; In Conversation with M.F. Husain; The Unveiling of Lightning in New York; M.F. Husain; Selected Exhibitions.
The City Palace at Udaipur is part of a living cultural heritage that has survived in an unbroken line of custodianship from medieval kingship to modern democracy. This volume traces the cultural lineage of the palace through its art and architecture, arriving at a conservation model designed to preserve this magnificent structure for the future. Beginning with the historical precedents that led to the selection of Udaipur as the new capital of Mewar State, the authors of Living Heritage of Mewar trace the evolution of the palace, its sequence of inner and outer chambers, and the subsequent expansions, which added Mughal and British influences to its Mewar Rajput architecture. The authors, who are also conservation scholars, have outlined in this beautifully illustrated volume a master conservation plan that combines modern and traditional methods within the context of the unique history, condition and conservation needs of the City Palace Udaipur.
Drawing on the photographic albums in the personal collection of Sir John Marshall, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902-1928, this volume is a study exploring multiple perceptions of Indian history and related scholarship produced through archaeological fieldwork during the colonial period. The book highlights major sites such as Sanchi, Sarnath, Mohenjodaro and Taxila – often referred to as Marshall’s archaeological triumphs. With over 100 illustrations and an extensive bibliography, this book offers a detailed account of the investigative technique that developed into a commanding disciplinary science-archaeology within British India. Co-published with Alkazi Collection of Photography.
Choosing bronze as her favorite medium, Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998) formed her own simplistic, modernist, life-like world of sculptures. They possess a ‘lifeforce’ that speaks to the ordinary being instead of alienating them. Mukherjee’s commitment to her practice made her valiant enough to step out of her comfort zone and dedicate herself to visual arts. Her devotion to the craft traditions of India guided her to Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and South India. The artist’s language is similar to that of the quotidian life in her immediate surroundings, shedding light upon social issues.
This one of a kind volume offers an understanding of Mukherjee’s art through the most comprehensive collection of essays by writers who have known her personally and professionally, as well as from translated texts and excerpts from her diary and letters. Published in association with Akar Prakar Gallery, Kolkata, Emami Art, New Delhi, and supported by Raza Foundation.
Postcards were to people in 1900 what the Internet was to the world in 2000. The world went from a thousand to a billion postcards in a very short span of time, with the finest painters from India, Austria and Japan getting involved. Paper Jewels is the story of postcards during the Raj, and covers India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Burma. It is the first book on the subject and features hundreds of professionally-restored images in original format, weaving together the postcard artists, photographers, and publishers who define the rich history of the medium. The author’s research also charts the history and progression of the technological aspects of postcard publishing and its key players. The concluding chapters explore the role postcards played in the Independence struggle, from the First Non-Cooperation Movement through the Dandi March and Partition. It includes some of the earliest cards of Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and other political figures. Many of the images in the book have not been seen since they were first published nearly a century ago. Published in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography.
In an age where contemporary art has changed in mediums and language, scope and intent, this book weighs in on the moodiness, methodology, efforts, mental blitzkriegs and inner workings of modern master of art Syed Haider Raza. This book unravels the workings of Raza’s oeuvre and life at the age of 94 years. It is an attempt at appraising and transmitting the prevailing winds of intent and insight in the works of Raza through conversations with him about contemporary art. Living now in Delhi, Raza is going through a revolution in which he is bringing back his past in his works he is ploughing the depths of past trends in his use of color fields, in contextualizing genres in his journey of the ‘Bindu’ and explaining intuitive strategies that reflect his journeys. Looking at Raza’s art is an intimate act of prolonged engagement. The Bindu too has transformed through decades it signifies a different tenor in a world torn by terrorism and death.
In tone and technique Raza is meticulous, historically informative, and has a sensitive yet straight-eyed approach that often takes the form of a discourse that invites cogent considerations; his reflections of spirituality and his favorite poets Rilke and Kabir build up into a flashback tinted in-your-face reflection that might involve the desire to dig deeper into his quotations.
Nevertheless, in his own specific way, Raza brings to his own works that essential recipe of criticism illustrated in essence with his own brand of expertise and taste. When he discusses his works done over the past two years, he travels through verbal and visual dynamics, and gives us a set of references and details that define his sensibility that brims to an inner core of intellectual and aesthetic insignias. In his twilight years, Syed Haider Raza is unveiled as a modern master who comes through more like a sage who swims in the fervor and ferment of thoughts shaped by 60 years in Paris as well as formative years in India.
Contents: Preface by Ashok Vajpeyi; Foreword by Reena Lath; Curatorial Note by Uma Nair; Plates; Biography of S.H Raza.
This comprehensive account traces James Waterhouse’s early career in Central India in the 1860s, through to his technical achievements in Britain in the 1900s. The works of this enigmatic figure devoted to the medium, acknowledged by his peers as “the father of photo-mechanical work”, until today remain unjustly neglected within the world of photography.