Sarmaya Talks
Sarmaya Arts Foundation is excited to host its series, Sarmaya Talks at the Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai on Friday, 28th July 2023 from 6 pm onwards.
Sarmaya Talks is a space for conversations where we invite scholars, authors, and experts to speak on a topic of their choice, introducing our audience to a wide range of subjects from art, culture, and history. We have hosted a diverse range of speakers including Ira Mukhoty, Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Rana Safvi, Girish Shahane, Madhavi Menon, Bijoy Jain, V Sriram, Manu Pillai, Devdutt Pattanaik and Javed Akhtar.
Our sessions for the evening are:
Dakhni: A language hiding in plain sight by Yunus Lasania
Qutb Shahi Necropolis: Conservation & landscape restoration by Ratish Nanda
28th July 2023 (Friday)
6 pm onwards
Durbar Hall
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai
About the Speakers :
Yunus Lasania is a Hyderabad-based journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting. He is currently the Chief of Bureau (AP & TS) for The News Minute. With a deep love for Hyderabad and its history, he also runs the Instagram page The Hyderabad History Project, and hosts Beyond Charminar, a podcast series focusing on the lesser-known aspects of his city.
Ratish Nanda is a conservation architect and India CEO for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. He heads inter-disciplinary teams implementing two urban conservation projects: Humayun's Tomb-Sunder Nursery-Nizamuddin in Delhi, and Qutb Shahi Heritage Park at Golconda, Hyderabad. He has worked on the restoration of Baghe Babur, Kabul, and the garden at Humayun's Tomb.|
The event is free for all with limited seating. To register, please click here.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVHzy15UwFNex4YY4tUMvYFpSlKqjgu221asgnuM-6pUl5XA/viewform
“She sells us more than she buys from us.”
Reads a line from the first page of John Forbes Watson’s The Textile Manufactures of India.
Published in 1866 by the India Office, the 18 volume compendium proves that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.
An in-depth research into Indian costumes and caste system combined with a brutal, goose bump inducing economic strategy led to the proverbial ‘beginning of the end’ of the handcrafted textile sector .
The decline that was triggered by this compendium has not stopped ever since although the efforts to reverse it have been made sporadically through policies and schemes.
The 18 volumes are a treasure house though- whether it is for the brilliant textile swatches ( cut from 700 textiles) or the incisive analysis of aesthetics and consumption patterns of Indians.
The Asiatic Society is proud to present a curated display of the volumes ( of which they possess a complete set), textiles based on the samples in the compendium and portrait photographs that help us understand the impact a little better.
Join us at the
Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai
from 5th to 8th July, 2023
Timings:- 10:30 to 6:30pm
for guided walkthroughs and lectures on the importance & impact of the books, archival documentation and preserving these archives.
Timings for walkthroughs:- 11am, 1 pm and 3 pm.
Curator:- Savitha Suri
From 1490 to 1636, the Nizam Shahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar was one of the Deccani sultanates. One of its cities Daulatabad was the strategic gateway to the North Deccan. The great Bhakti saint-poet Eknath was a disciple of Janarden Swami who was governor of Daulatabad’s fort. There are extraordinary dargahs and tombs of notables in and near the city of Khuldabad.
Its paintings, architecture, spiritual heritage, and unique history are thrilling. Only a few miniature paintings and drawings have survived ,but they are magical. The paintings have gold backgrounds or energetic coloring that overwhelms the onlooker , whereas the delicate lines of the drawings drew us closer and closer to appreciate them.
Particularly intriguing is the story of Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian slave who took control of the state. He is still known today for his defense of the Deccan against the Mughals. One of the fascinating paintings was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir; it shows Jahangir imagining shooting an arrow through his nemesis Malik Ambar’s head.
The series of three lectures are free. Please join the whatsaap group to register and know more.
From 7 pm to 8.30 pm IST
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm GST
9:30 am to 11:00 am ET
Zoom platform
https://chat.whatsapp.com/CkmLFwTqFFE6kEdwELMNTk