Who Knew! Forts of Maharashtra
Who knew that Maharashtra had over 75 forts!! Seventy Five!!! And who knew that there are nearly 200 groups that organise trekking & hiking day / overnight tours to … Continue reading
A Kashmir that We Shall Never See Again
Kashmir: A geography I have not yet been to. A history that none of us can ever go to. A few old photos that bring alive the lifestyle of Old … Continue reading
Lost & Found – An Ancient City in Northern Thailand
An experience from 8 years ago almost lost in my memory… revived through photos. In 1984, some ancient tablets were found at a site about 5km from Chiang Mai in … Continue reading
Book of the Month – April 2015
The last book I picked up – a world bestseller – did not hold my attention. I had to drop it half way. My teachers used to say we must … Continue reading
History of Indian Textiles
“The record of ancient and medieval Indian textiles exists mostly in literature and sculpture. There is archaeological evidence of a cotton textile industry at Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley around … Continue reading
Life in Japan 1900s
Hand colored photos from Japan 1890 – 1905 seen on Ebay offer a glimpse into a completely different culture that is rarely seen in Japan today! Geisha Women posing for … Continue reading
Unparalleled Art in Architecture – Havelis of Jaisalmer
The unparalleled art in the architecture seen in the Havelis of Jaisalmer mesmerizes and leaves the visitor speechless. The spell cast by the beauty of the walls built with stone … Continue reading
How many Indian Manuscripts exist?
In my readings about ancient Indian texts I came across an interesting article by Wujastyk. The main page is linked below. A few interesting excerpts: India as a modern nation-state … Continue reading
Journey to the Past : The science of Epigraphy
Imagine walking through a maze with instructions written in a language we do not understand. In reconstructing the history of a civilisation, we work with very few clues – artefacts, … Continue reading
Indian History – my education system failed me
My school teachers and my school text books always told me that India had been ruled by the British. But through my travel and the books that I have stumbled … Continue reading
Tampan – the bewitching extinct weaving of Lampung
Weaving ceased in Lampung at the end of the 19th century. Ceased. Extinct. Forever. This fact would be tragic even if we were speaking of some other geography. But once … Continue reading
Wovensouls makes its first sale to a Museum!
Time for celebration! Wovensouls has just made its first sale to a museum. That the buyer is a renowned museum with one of the best cultural collections in the world … Continue reading
My Talk @ Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
On Thursday, Feb 16th, I presented a talk on the magnificent Blue Veil to museum Docents, textile enthusiasts and museum enthusiasts at the Ngee Ann Auditorium at ACM in Singapore. … Continue reading
Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an – a photo gallery
Made of . These and other artifacts like bells, cranes, amulets and weapons are all widely speculated by experts to be part of the recreation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s … Continue reading
Bharat Varsha – Ancient Indian Kingdoms
My education, although I am among the small percent of Indians who have a Master’s, degree, has proven to be highly insufficient since I had no idea that the map … Continue reading
Alternate Sexuality Traditions – 1, The Khmers
PREFACE This is a collection of readings from various sources. Each article throws some light on alternative social systems. They intrigue because they are different from models known to me … Continue reading
