The famed Bengal textiles which once ‘clothed the world’ have received little scholarly attention. With the systemic destruction of Bengal’s textile industry, prompted by the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the muslins and Balucharis of Bengal were lost in obscurity. The partition of the Indian subcontinent and the consequent varieties of cultural and social identity in present-day India and Bangladesh have contributed to this neglect. This pioneering publication explores in depth the lost textile traditions of Bengal from the 16th to the 20th century and traces its impact on the historical and cultural aspects of the region.

Supported by superb illustrations of textiles, maps and trade documents from the past, most of which have never been published before, the book serves as a public history, with engaging chapters presenting a unique perspective on the textiles of wider Bengal. This volume will inspire the reader, reorient scholarly attention and provoke a rethinking of the nature and history of Bengal textiles. 

Ammi’s Kitchen: Heirloom Recipes from Rampur is a tribute to all grandmothers who have been the torchbearers of saving and passing on the legacy of classic traditional family recipes. Pernia Qureshi’s grandmother, Mussharaf-ul-Nissa Begum, originally from Chandausi in the United Provinces, was married at a young age into the princely state of Rampur. With the influence of her hometown, now combined with the newfound exposure to Rampur’s more modern and eclectic cuisine, she created a food language that was uniquely her own.

This book is a collection of recipes she mastered over the years, which still carry the aromas of the treasures of history.

Following the publication of The Bundi Wall-Paintings in Rajasthan, Hilde Lauwaert photographed hundreds of wall-paintings, across Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In her new book, she introduces readers to the great stories of Hindu mythology, as depicted in refined artistic wall-paintings found in centuries-old temples, palaces, forts, cenotaphs and wells, as well as more popular examples in the havelis, the wealthy merchant houses from the 18th to the 20th centuries. These richly decorative wall-paintings, a unique form of cultural heritage in India, bring the principal Hindu myths vividly to life in visual form. Taking these paintings as her guide, the author aims to make the stories of Hindu mythology recognizable and understandable to a wide audience. She also explores the ways in which the gods are worshiped today, through rituals at home, in temples, and during festivals.

It had been a desert, its dunes languorously meeting the lapping sea which has played its part in world trade since the beginning of time. There had been the gold and spices from nearby India, and the petroleum of today, extracted from its sands or brought from elsewhere, from off the shores of its coasts. It is difficult to imagine that these seven Emirates have a history, as understood in Western canons. Here, the past seems to have been dug away with excavators, drowned in concrete, built over with metropolitan motorways. This does not prevent it from seeming to surge forth at the slightest provocation, at the smallest of solicitations. Proud of what the world acknowledges as his country’s achievements, the most insolent of Emiratis grows less arrogant when recalling his father’s fathers. Fathers who, hardly more than four decades ago, were Bedouins, traders, camel drivers, almost all pearl fishers. It is in this way that this modern history was written. Twenty centuries of hard seasonal migration of their livestock, intensive trade, fierce competition, destructive setbacks and creative imagination forged mentalities that have made this desert into one of the richest and most envied places in the world. What seems a modern miracle is no more than the culmination of an ancient culture having survived mishap and change to forge a modern economy.

Tsha-tsha are terracottas, or unfired earthenware figures, in the form of cast-sculptured stupas/chörten (reliquaries) or reliefs, which are decorated in a variety of religious motifs in bas-relief or half-relief. These votive offerings in earth or loam are produced by hand by believers or monks with models (casts) and serve many different purposes in every day religious life. With the depiction of over 360 objects, this book offers an outstanding review of the diverse manifestations and the extensive iconography of these exceptional ritual objects from the Buddhist cultural sphere. Text in German.

The Mughals established a mighty empire that dominated India for two centuries. With their passion for nature and art, the Mughal emperors laid out verdant gardens, built splendid monuments including the Taj Mahal, and commissioned beautiful books. Books were precious to the Mughal kings. Expensive and laborious to produce, they were symbols of royal wealth, power and intelligence. At the height of Mughal power, the imperial studios hummed with the activity of hundreds of papermakers, calligraphers, painters and bookbinders, all producing books for the royal libraries. Many manuscripts were illustrated with exquisite miniature paintings, in which the Mughals took a special delight. Today these books and paintings, treasured by museums around the world, offer us unique perspectives into Mughal lives.

Handmade and handcrafted objects are a part of daily life in Gujarat. The crafts of Gujarat demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature and offer meaningful lessons in sustainable living for future generations. The ingenious use of natural and locally available materials is combined with a unique aesthetic, bringing together form and function in each magnificent product. With simple tools, adherence to norms set by tradition and with their imagination, the artisans of Gujarat have embodied human potential. Traditional skills are now applied to create products for the contemporary world, demonstrating convincingly that natural and handmade products are adaptable over time, and, that tradition continues to be relevant in modern times.

Before any sound critical framework could be evolved around the phenomenal artist Jangarh Singh Shyam as the originator of an extraordinary individualistic idiom of painting, ruthless market forces regrettably came to dominate his art and Jangarh himself became their first casualty. While trying to finish a large commission at a museum in Japan under adverse circumstances, Jangarh committed suicide in 2001. He was 40.

A whole range of conditions, events and mediations associated with Jangarh’s life and his art practice has since remained underexplored. This book is a first attempt to construct an equitable account of the formation of his prodigious artistic body of work that founded his legacy and grew into a movement. As a prime critical analysis of Jangarh Singh Shyam’s oeuvre, this book also serves as a model framework for the study of a contemporary individual folk and tribal artist.

The book probes the efficacy of extra-cultural interventions into an individual artist’s operative and relatively well-grounded indigenous cultural tradition, and asks how the latter interacts with the new, while intentionally reinventing itself.

This volume is published in association with the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bangalore.

This volume is the first to bring together the V&A Museum’s collection of 19th-century temple hangings from South India, made in the kalamkari style of hand drawing, mordant-dyeing and painting. This is the first time they have been fully illustrated with complete translations of their inscriptions, accompanied by detailed analyses of their narratives. Published in association with the V&A Museum, London, this volume features original research and lavish illustrations.

Introduction: The Ramayana: Contructed, Killed and Brought; Ramayana Chirala; Ramayana Machilipatnam; Ramayana Srikalahasti; Ramayana Srikalahasti (English captions); Ramayana Sri Lanka; Ramayana: Selected Scenes; Balakanda Madurai; Yuddhakanda Madurai; Krishnacharita Coastal Andhra. Two Episodes from the Mahabharata; The Killing of Shishupala Madurai; The Duel between Karna and Arjuna Madurai. Two Ganga Hangings; Ganga Dupatti Machilipatnam; Ganga Dupatti Machilipatnam; Mahalakshmi Pithakam Machilipatnam. Introduction to Holy Sites; Sri Subrahmanya Temple, Tiruchendur; Sri Subrahmanyaswami Temple, Tirupparankunram; Sri Ranganathaswami Temple, Srirangam; Alagar Koyil Chittirai Festival; The Life of Christ Srikalahasti; Bibliography; Glossary; Acknowledgements.

This publication emanates from an exhibition by the same title, displayed for the first time at the Alliance Française de Delhi. It is an attempt to trace the development of photography and the other allied visual arts in Pondicherry spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawn exclusively from The Alkazi Collection of Photography, at the core of this initiative is the unpublished album by renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, co-founder of Magnum Photos, who visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in April 1950. He took the last pictures of Sri Aurobindo Ghose in the company of his spiritual companion, the Mother. In addition, he meticulously penned his observations almost daily, creating a meta-text around the images, which presents a biographical and anecdotal supplement for his photographic endeavour. The visual material is further enhanced by some extraordinary images of Indian photographers from the same period such as Tara Jauhar and Venkatesh Shirodkar at Aurobindo Ashram, published here for the first time.

In this catalogue a conscious effort has been made to bring out a non-linear, yet credible history of how Pondicherry has been witness to the development of a unique visual trajectory. The use of images as evidence and document create a subtle interplay between cultural context and artistic intent, a conceptual linking of mannerisms and tropes those of landscape, architectural and portrait photography.

The Jeypore Exhibition of 1883 was regarded as among the most important industrial exhibitions of 19th century, where specimen of the best art work of India was curated. Credited to the arduous efforts of Thomas Holbein Hendley, a British officer in the princely state of Jaipur, the Exhibition was primarily an attempt to showcase local skills. A permanent ‘memorial’ of the Exhibition was produced as a four-part set of illustrated volumes, authored by Hendley and commissioned by the visionary Maharaja of Jaipur. The first volume contained a number of chromo-lithographs and a general description of the plates in the first three books of the set. The second and third volumes contained 100 photographs of Indian art work, while Volume IV also included reproductions in platinum of the illustrations of Emperor Akbar’s own copy of the Razmanama, the Persian epic. Published by W.H. Griggs, some sets were presented to leading museums of the world, and very few copies were sold. This facsimile edition of a rare copy of Volume I, preserved at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, is now published to recreate those splendors documented by Hendley, for modern-day scholars and connoisseurs. Co-published with Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.

Modern Indian Painting presents a survey of Indian painting from the late 19th century to the present day, drawn from the private collection of Jane and Kito de Boer remarkable for its broad historical scope and wide range of artists. The book clearly delineates major developments over a long period of time, while contextualizing them with previously unpublished examples by major artists. The first part of the book features the de Boers talking about their passion for India and Indian art. The second part presents a history of modern Indian painting, with essays on the Bengal School, the so-called ‘Dutch Bengal’ artists, the Calcutta naturalists, the portrait painters of the Bombay School in the early 20th century, the Progressive Artists Group and the post-Independence artists of Bengal. The de Boer collection also contains strong representations of a few individual artists, such as Chittaprosad, Ganesh Pyne, Ramachandran and Broota, whose works are explored through essays and interviews. The fact that many of these chapters draw almost exclusively on the de Boer collection is a testament to its incredible size and breadth. In this volume, we hope to show how the collection takes a dispassionate view of the global status of Indian art, while at the same time revealing a commitment and long-term engagement with the country and its creativity. With contributions from Partha Mitter, Giles Tillotson, Yashodhara Dalmia, Sona Datta, Sanjay Kumar Mallik and Rob Dean.

Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’
Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004.
Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

Previously published as part of a set, this volume, which concentrates on Samant’s paintings, is now available separately.

Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’
Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004.
Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

Previously published as part of a set, this volume, which concentrates on Samant’s paintings, is now available separately.

The Goddess Devi, the primordial Shakti, is a revelation of the eternal Brahman in a maternal aspect. She is worshipped during the autumnal festival of Durga Pujo in Bengal every year.

In this volume, Peter Bjorn Franceschi presents a photographic exploration of the mother goddess in the making, a visual diary of the clay idols of the goddess Durga, from conception to finished form. The book takes us through the winding lanes of Kumartuli, home to the master artists who craft the clay idols of the Devi for the Durga Pujo. Accompanying these photographs are verses from Sankaracharya’s poetic work, Saundaryalahari (Waves of Beauty), translated by the scholar Minati Kar. The work is a paean to the goddess Durga, entwining Advaita Vedanta and Tantra philosophy to paint a splendid picture of Devi, starting from the crown of her head and ending at her feet. These poetic descriptions serve as a deeper layer to the visuals, and as an alternate way of interpreting the process of image making. Delving deep into the philosophical and artistic aspects of the divinity of goddess Durga, this volume is a visual celebration of her many forms, and also of the artisans who have occupied a centuries-old caesura between devotion and art.

The Razmnama or The Book of War is the Persian translation of one of the great Hindu epics of India, the Mahabharata. The Mughal emperor Akbar took a personal interest in the translation project and a lavishly illustrated copy was prepared for his personal use. Out of the three copies made, the three-volume Razmnama in the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata is the only copy that is complete with 81 miniatures that bear the name of the scribe and the date of completion, 1605. The paintings combine the finest elements of the Mughal court style with the narrative style of storytelling.

In this book, the author brings to the reader the Goddess Parvati, the Female Principle, consort of the God Shiva, lover, mother, provider, embodiment of beauty. In showing her in each of her manifestations, he tries to create the ambience that would normally exist around her to show her in her true glory. The images in stone come mostly from the classical period in north India. The dominant theme in the stone sculptures is the amorousness of Shiva and Parvati, and images of the generic term Uma-Maheshvara, half female-half male. Chola bronze images are also included, as are images painted on glass, later miniature paintings and folk paintings.

Dr. Balkrishna Doshi (1927–2023) was foremost among the modern Indian architects. An urban planner and educator for over 70 years, Doshi has to his credit outstanding projects ranging from dozens of townships and several educational campuses. Apart from his international fame as an architect, Doshi was equally known as an educator and institution builder. He received several international and national awards and honors, and in 2018 Doshi was selected as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, internationally known as architecture’s highest honor.

This autobiography captures Doshi’s career from his childhood to his studies in Bombay and London, his work at Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris and collaboration with Louis I Kahn for IIM Ahmedabad. It recounts his meetings with the most remarkable persons in his own and allied fields, and his equally remarkable patrons, and the story of his own family.

Put together, for the first time, from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of this remarkable journey unfolding over more than 80 years and across all the continents.

The Auroville Architects Monograph Series documents the pioneering work of the architects whose vision shaped Auroville, a unique international township in southeastern India. This monograph, the second in the series, is a comprehensive record of the work of Piero and Gloria Cicionesi, whose architectural legacy translates Auroville’s philosophy of community living into built form. Piero (b 1935) and Gloria (b 1933) Cicionesi hail from the magical town of Florence in Italy. They arrived in Auroville a week after its inauguration on 28 February 1968 and have since made it their karma-kshetra. This unique International Township based on the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother is a source of inspiration to many architects around the world. This publication brings together essays, drawings and photographs to demonstrate the elegant legacy of Piero and Gloria Cicionesi, for whom architecture is not only a search for beauty but also has a deeper social aspiration. This book has been enhanced with 7 augmented reality videos, each linked to a photograph marked with the symbol. These videos include interactions with Piero and Gloria as well as documentation of their journey and work in Auroville. The videos are available through the BooksPlus mobile app. To play the videos, please follow the instructions given on the copyright page.

The first to describe in detail a community of potters working for the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, eastern India, Temple Potters of Puri explores the role of the temple servant and how it affects the potters’ understanding of their work and of themselves. As a pilgrimage center of national importance, supported by the patronage of successive regional dynasties and by fervent popular belief, the Jagannatha Temple requires earthenware in great quantities for the creation and distribution of the sacred food that is an integral feature of daily ritual and pilgrimage. Several hundred potters participate as temple servants in maintaining the temple’s ritual cycle by performing their divinely assigned task. This study observes the potters’ technical prowess, sustained by devotion, but also examines the tensions within their relationships to more powerful temple servants and authorities. The role of the potter as temple servant is at once glorious, as demonstrated by texts and personal interpretations of the potters’ divinely-appointed service, and pathetic, as shown in the brutality of caste-based hierarchy and cash-based exchange penetrating the modern temple’s daily operations. The accompanying DVD shows the potters at work and records their skills and products as well as the annual festival that celebrates their role as temple servants.

The remarkably accomplished Alexander Greenlaw, probably the first photographer to reach Vijayanagara in South India in 1855, is known principally through his monumental paper negatives of this great imperial Hindu city. Greenlaw, an army officer, explored the vast site, capturing the temples, shrines, palaces and pleasure pavilions with his camera, as well as recording the dramatic landscape that surrounds the ruins of this once majestic capital. While Greenlaw’s response to the architecture within its spectacular natural setting is the principal focus of this book, the work of subsequent photographers at the site is also explored. Included are images by William Pigou, Edmond David Lyon, Nicholas & Co. and others. They show the role of photography in documenting and preserving the site through a comparative approach that seeks to present a comprehensive overview of commercial, archaeological and other documentary activity at Vijayanagara in the 19th century.

The Walking Tour City Guide series provides an engaging bridge between conventional tourist books, which contain less information on architecture, and academic books, which are often too specialized for a leisurely audience. A Walking Tour: Ahmedabad – the first to focus on an Indian city – provides hand-drawn illustrations that escort the reader from building to building, providing information on history, architectural styles, uses and purpose, and the architects themselves. Focusing on the blend of medieval and modern architecture in Ahmedabad, the authors explore the magnificent old city and the historic ‘Pol’ houses. They also shed light on the buildings built by modern masters, such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. From havelis and temples to mosques, markets, and buildings that were only made possible because of the work of Mahatma Gandhi, the authors provide a lively illustrated tour through this city which has seen Mughal, Maratha and British influences in its culture, food and architecture.

On 22nd February 2015, Syed Haider Raza turns 93. Widely acknowledged as a master of modern Indian art, for nearly six decades his work, vision and life have attracted critical attention from various points of view. Raza returned to India, his home country, after spending 60 years in France and now lives in Delhi and continues to paint.

Raza has created nearly 50 new paintings in past six months. Raza’s art has been analysed, explored and evaluated in many books and continues to evoke new responses, also because he is still painting significantly and passionately. Collectors of his paintings exist worldwide.

This fresh collection of essays offers new insights into the artistic career and life of a truly dynamic visionary of our times.

The DVD accompanying this volume is an invaluable recording of Raza creating his collection Aarambh. Thus, this fresh perspective on his art is enriched by the knowledge of how that art came to be.