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.

As the first ever organized collection of Delhi’s maps, containing a chronology of magnificent ancient and modern hand-drawings as well as digital maps of the city, this book is as visually stunning as it is informative. Dr Guerrieri describes each map as an individual entity. She gives the maps unique and detailed focus, elaborating on their idiosyncrasies, aesthetic details, and rich historical relevance. The evolution of planning and architecture, which elegantly unfolds through the maps, mirrors the political, social, and historical progression of the capital. Maps of Delhi is both beautiful and stimulating, while also offering deeply insightful commentary that will be appreciated by the most discerning of scholars. It is an indisputable milestone for those wanting to research the capital. The book reveals, as A.G. Krishna Menon notes in the foreword, the charm of printed maps and the many pleasures and insights they offer when they are physically handled. It is a remarkable tribute to a remarkable city.

The temples of the Early Chalukyas, dating from the 6th to 8th centuries, are unrivalled in all of India for their comparatively early date and unusually complete condition, the remarkable juxtaposition of their different constructional techniques and building styles, and for the sheer beauty of their figural and decorative carvings. In spite of their appeal and outstanding historical significance, these monuments have until now lacked an adequate publication.

This volume is the first to fully describe and illustrate the architecture and art of the Early Chalukya temples in Badami, and nearby Mahakuta, Aihole and Pattadakal, all situated on or near to the Malprabha River in central Karnataka. Michell’s definitive text is complemented by forty of his measured drawings, which constitute the most thorough graphic documentation ever undertaken. These are accompanied by more than 150 splendid, newly commissioned photographs by Surendra Kumar.

Contents:
Preface; Historical Background; Architecture; Sculpture; Badami; Mahakuta; Aihole; Pattadakal; Maps; Building Chronology; Glossary of Architectural Terms; Glossary of Indian Names; Select Bibliography; Photo Credits; Index.

Banaras is a city on the banks of the river Ganges. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism. It is regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is portrayed beautifully through Majumdar’s captivating perspective on different walks around the city. Banaras witnesses thousands of devout Hindus who journey to the banks of the Ganga to wash their sins away. The ghats and the riot of colors only add to the character of this city. Banaras now known as Varanasi is also a major tourist attraction and welcomes thousands from around the world.

The Kama Sutra is a two thousand year old mystical treatize on sexuality – read and revered for generations. This first ever collector’s edition takes a contemporary look at the perennial classic and pairs the ancient text with vibrantly colored and richly detailed illustrations.

Rare miniatures, gouache and tantric paintings are published here for the first time. The gold edged book comes in a hand made box made of pure silk. The lavish packaging and sumptuous production of the book makes it a remarkable keepsake.

Bombay Art Deco Architecture presents a treasury of Art Deco buildings comprising residential, commercial and civic architecture. These monuments were created during the mid ’30s and ’40s, a glamorous and optimistic era that predated the official end of the British Raj. The architects, a small list of first-generation Indian architects and builders, were mostly educated in English schools and trained in western architectural traditionst. Impatient with the British reluctance to shed the Gothic and Indo-Saracenic architectural styles that had dominated Imperial Bombay’s urban landscape, these visionaries were determined to imbue the city with a new modern style. That style shares its provenance with the Art Deco architecture of Miami Beach, termed ‘Tropical Deco’ by author Laura Cerwinske in her seminal 1981 book. Built in the same era, the Art Deco architecture of the two cities exhibits similar scale, geometry, tropical vocabulary, and love of romance.

This monograph showcases the trajectory of an empire built by the sheer dint of its driving success. Archgroup has gained international recognition as a comprehensive service provider in the architectural segment, with special focus being on its prolific and vital role dominating the skyline of the UAE’s world-class destination, Dubai. The firm’s work has now become synonymous with epithets such as ‘tallest’, ‘highest’ and ‘longest’ across the Gulf region.

Inside, the richly illustrated pages chronicle close to 100 projects by Archgroup, both built and in progress. Each work provides insight into the values, design-thinking and process-orientated approach that is the firm’s signature, making this volume a valuable resource that goes beyond the study of the built form to talk about the firm’s inimitable ethos that guides its design candor.

Delhi Then and Now comprises two masterful essays that trace the story of Delhi from the days when it was known by other names Indraprastha, Firozabad, Dinpanah to its reincarnation as New Delhi. Historian Narayani Gupta takes us through the city of Sultans, Mughal emperors and viceroys, while journalist Dilip Bobb shows us the face of New Delhi as it is now. A rich portfolio of archival photographs and illustrations, together with vibrant new pictures, edited by Pramod Kapoor, capture Delhi in all its glory past and present.

Delhi Then – A city of empires and dynasties, Delhi through the ages has evoked nostalgia of its history written on the red sandstone walls. From Quila Rai Pithora to the palace on Raisina Hill, the changing face of Delhi is remarkably discernible in these photographs – a special collection that give words to the spoken and unspoken history of this city. Delhi Now – A city of dreams and desires, Delhi’s urban landscape is incomplete without the stones of seven ancient cities which give it a distinct meaning, a distinct outlook. A modern city on the move, the colors and digital vibrancy of the photographs capturing Delhi in all moods and moments, is as imposing as the grand old structures of yesteryears. A twin city of old-world charm and new extravagance, Delhi has evolved through the ages and is looking forward to an era that will be remembered down the ages.

World-renowned architectural writer and critic Philip Jodidio delves into his selection of the Top Twenty-six of the most contemporary and current house designs from around the world, showcasing the most innovative and influential designs from Europe, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, South and Central America, India, and Asia. He provides an incisive analysis of the site-specific elements, key environmental factors of the landscape design, the use of spatial visualizations, light, sustainability, and materials, and other critical design features of each home. He expertly articulates and examines the relationships between the architecture and the intentions of the design for the people who live there, taking into account how the architecture affects human behavior, what enhances the success of the design of each home in this collection, with an overview of current industry trends, and where to next for residential design innovation. This beautifully presented book, filled with stunning photographs and detailed plans and diagrams, celebrates residential luxury, inspirational style and design innovation from around the globe.

“This is the travel photography book for our digital age. Tom’s incredible eye for capturing historical detail creates captivating imagery for the ultimate in escapist pleasure.” Kelly Wearstler, Interior Designer

“A true Renaissance man, Tom shares his vast architectural knowledge, artistic talent, and sense of humor in photographs and watercolors.” Amy Astley, editor-in-chief, Architectural Digest

This book is a celebration of the power of the smartphone camera combined with Tom Kligerman’s unique eye. Tom is a New York architect who adores travel and the different cultures of the world, recording vibrant details and evocative scenes on his iPhone as he journeys from India to New Mexico, from Beaux-Arts monuments to rustic barns, from ocean to mountaintop. The images have been curated into dynamic pairs that spark a conversation about the world and the different ways of seeing it. They are accompanied by Tom’s reflections, and those of his Instagram followers, in a series of captions, comments and mini essays. This book is a child of the pandemic, a time when people could only dream of traveling or relive past experiences, as Tom has done, from the image banks on their mobile devices. It rejoices in both the potential of new media and the physical pleasure given by a beautifully made and structured book. It allows readers a moment of pause and reflection, so necessary if we are not to be lost in the digital feed.

In 2019 Ali Kazim, one of the most exciting contemporary artists working in Pakistan today, became the first South Asian artist-in-residence at the Ashmolean Museum. Drawing inspiration from the objects in the Eastern Art collections, and their contextual history, he saw his time in the Museum as an opportunity to reimagine the objects in his own work and practise. Thus, the exhibition and accompanying catalogue will focus mainly on Kazim’s engagement with the Ashmolean collections and the works created between 2019 and 2021. Widely exhibited and collected internationally (including the British Museum, V&A, Metropolitan Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, etc.), Kazim lives and works in Pakistan. The exhibition and book provide the Museum an opportunity to engage wider diverse audiences, while also presenting the works of a contemporary multidisciplinary artist who reflects and draws strength from the Ashmolean collections.

Richly designed with beautiful images and illustrations, this edition, published in collaboration with INTACH Kashmir Chapter, is a celebration of architectural ornamentation in shrines and mosques of one of the most beautiful regions of India. The book is also a study to understand the Islamic architecture in the era of continuity and change. 

It began with a new camera, a retirement present from the author’s wife. The Kameng area in Arunachal Pradesh, familiar to the author’s family for over six decades, and the Monpa people provided the perfect subjects to indulge his interest in photography. Over time, the idea of a book firmed up, and the photographs coalesced into what was envisioned as a sensitive, not necessarily comprehensive, look at the Monpa way of life and their land, Monyul. The intent was not to be ethnographic or academic, but to portray the rapidly changing world of the Monpas. A meditative travelog in images that transforms into a thoughtful exploration, the book captures the lives of the people and the region. The author’s personal stories, interspersed throughout the book, tell of the Monpas’ hospitality and warmth, providing insight into the everyday lives of a spiritual community.

The father of fiber optics, Narinder Singh Kapany was far more than your typical multi-hyphenate. Inventor, art collector, sculptor, farmer, entrepreneur, teacher, and a successful businessman, Dr Kapany was what Fortune magazine in its 1999 issue called, ‘one of the seven unsung heroes of the 20th century’. An insightful and inspirational life story, this memoir chronicles his 90 remarkable years. Charming, idiosyncratic, and highly engaging, The Man who Bent Light serves up enough variety and verve to celebrate the lives of a half-dozen individuals. But there is only one Narinder Singh Kapany, and his life, illuminated in his singular memoir, is a life like no other.

The Kedara Kalpa is a relatively little-known Shaiva text; and only slightly better known than it are the two dispersed series of paintings to which this study is devoted. But both raise questions that are at once elegant and deeply engaging. Ostensibly, they treat of a journey by five seekers who set out to reach the realm of the great god, Shiva – walking barefoot through icy mountains and deep ravines, frozen rivers and moon-like rocks, running on the way into temptations and dangers the like of which no man before them had encountered – and, in the end, succeed. But as one goes through the narrative, the text visualised with brilliance sometimes by members of a talented family of Pahari painters, one begins to wonder. Is this a parable of sorts? Or the description of a long, unending dream from which one never wakes? Or, one wakes up like those five seekers and then, at the very next moment, slips back into that real / unreal world again? Is there something that hides behind all that one sees? Is this journey real, or is it only in the mind?

It is for each reader to decide, the authors appear to say.

Scenography is the art of ‘writing the stage space’ — a visual journey of unmaking and remaking the text on a theatre space, a language of the spectatorial senses. However, this dialect of space and props, though prevalent in the West from the early days of the Greek plays, unfortunately has never been groomed and appropriated in the long theatre tradition of the Orient — until a bunch of new practitioners and scholars decided to explore the field of design and change the narrative of space in recent times. Yet with hardly any documentation available in the backdrop of indigenous theatre, there was a need of a practical treatise for quite a long time.

Scenography: An Indian Perspective unearths this astonishing yet silent contribution of ‘stage’ design in Indian theaters throughout the ages and the comparatively recent appropriation of it.

Architecture Asia, as the official journal of the Architects Regional Council Asia, aims to provide a forum, not only for presenting Asian phenomena and their characteristics to the world, but also for understanding diversity and multiculturalism within Asia from a global perspective.

This issue focuses on how cultural identity and social responsibility can be embodied within architecture and space design, and features three essays and eleven projects that elaborate on this topic. Each essay discusses the social situation in Australia, Malaysia, and India, respectively, as the eleven projects, accompanied with full-color photos and text descriptions, highlight architectural works that include a community center, nursery, hostel block, and cultural museum, among others, to reveal how through these buildings cultural identity is strengthened, or social responsibility is extended.