Art N Soul
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The Partition of India in 1947 was the largest human migration in recorded history. Around 15 million people were uprooted as a consequence, and the Punjab region—a part of which was incorporated into Pakistan—was one of the worst-affected areas in the subcontinent along with Bengal. Prof. B.N.…
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Numerous travellers such as Hiuen Tsang and Niccolao Manucci have come to the Indian subcontinent and written extensively about its people and culture. One such traveller was a French jeweller called Jean Baptiste Tavernier, whose fascinating accounts shed light on various aspects of the…
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The camera had made its appearance in India as early as 1840, just one short year after its invention was announced by Louis Daguerre in France. By the end of the 19th century, photography had become an 'Indian device'. But for the British, photographs of Indian subjects had become a kind of ‘…
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From Ka’aba to Amarnath, people have been embarking on religious sojourns and recording pilgrimages for centuries. People from India, coming from diverse religious backgrounds, visit numerous shrines each year such as Vaishno Devi, Hemkunt Sahib, Hajj, Sabarimala, Mani Mahesh, Pandharpur, among…
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The Nizams of Hyderabad were wealthy rulers who owned precious jewels and commissioned numerous paintings. From collar necklaces to table-cut diamonds, pearls and emeralds, these jewels shed light on the affluence of Nizams such as Mir Qamruddin Khan and Mir Mahbub Ali Khan. Prof B.N. Goswamy sheds…
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During her reign, Queen Victoria sent many gifts to Indian rulers such as Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab and Maharaja Ishwari Prasad Narain Singh of Benares. These gifts to Indian rulers and vice-versa are not only fascinating artefacts but also have interesting stories associated with them. Prof…
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The Mughal emperor Akbar was not only interested in Christianity but also commissioned Father Jerome Xavier—a Jesuit Father at the Mughal court—to write about the life of Christ. The manuscript he produced came to be known as Mir’at al-Quds (The Mirror of Holiness) and was even translated into…
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Paithan Ramayana paintings are marked by colourful and innovative designs, and have a highly sophisticated visual language. The paintings were once carried around by bards known as chitrakathis, who used them while reciting the epic as they moved from village to village. Prof. B.N. Goswamy sheds…
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Kehar Singh was a Punjabi painter, who was influenced by European watercolour and oil paintings, as well as photography. What set him apart from his contemporaries was the detailed manner of his depiction of common men from different trades, whom he even named as part of his accompanying notes.…
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