The Olden Days – Punjab
Can you feel the peace in this village? It is almost as if time had stopped still here: That era always attracts me and makes me wistful …the helplessness of … Continue reading
A Thousand Flowers
The memory of a great experience becomes a seed in our mind Lying dormant until we water it with attention. If we just close our eyes and shut out the … Continue reading
Science & Art in the Tibetan Astrological Calendar Sidpaho
Predicting the future and fortunes of an individual based on the movement of the planets across the reference matrix of the constellations, presupposes knowledge of astronomy. With very few instruments … Continue reading
Why do I collect old things?
Why do we collect antiques? Why do I collect antiques? It could be to get as close as possible to the past. It is the only way to capture the … Continue reading
A Seat for the Gods
Furniture is so hard to photograph!! And this piece was not even meant to be furniture! It was the seat on a bullock cart. Not an ordinary seat for you … Continue reading
Postcards from the Past – Old Dayak Costumes
And they now all march on towards jeans+t-shirts! Photo of a postcard from the 70s-80s
Daily Art Fix – Ceremonial Sumatra Weaving
A stunning festive weaving from pre-1900 Sumatra
Chasing a Faded Memory
When I was little, to entertain me and to occupy me, my grandmother used to draw out a picture on a notebook or a scrap of paper and ask … Continue reading
The Emperor’s Robe of ‘Literacy’
They were called illiterate. Because those who decided this wrote with pen and paper wrote in characters and not pictures used a different script logic * had a qualitatively different … Continue reading
Praying for Rain
A self-explanatory photo pre-1900 : An Indian Fakir performing a ritual praying for rain. The context is relevant even today! jm June 2014
TWO WORLDS
Bhil Woman whose lifestyle remains rooted in the past even as her surroundings have moved into the future with the adoption of new technology. Rural Rajasthan, India
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
