Ikat, the Sacred ThreadArticle
Saha Sutra
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While menstruation has long been considered a taboo topic in India, ancient Hindu traditions recognise women as a representation of Mother Earth. In certain parts of the country, menses is equated with the ritual of regeneration and fertility, and is thus celebrated. We look at two such festivals—…
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Textiles weaving in India has been traditionally linked to rituals, both in process as well as in use. Here we explore put the spotlight on the sacred element in ikat textiles, traditionally considered a ‘magical’ cloth across communities in India and abroad. (In pic: Pidan, a sacred banner, from…
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The early 1900s saw the rise of Hindi children’s journals such as Balak, Balsakha and Kanya Manorajan that published articles instilling nationalist morals and patriotism in kids, opining on what constitutes an ideal future-citizen for India. We look at how these journals attempted to influence the…
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While Swami Vivekananda’s introductory speech at the World Parliament of Religions on September 11, 1893 is widely regarded as iconic, we note that, contrary to popular opinion, he did not advocate the idea of a ‘universal religion’, but championed the concept of a common goal or destiny (i.e.,…
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The British and other Western colonial powers often used ‘great exhibitions’ to showcase the ‘splendours’ of their colonies as they saw them—strange and exotic. But, as we find, in the famous Jaipur Exhibition of 1883—under the patronage of Maharaja Madho Singh II—the nature of exhibition…
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Activities around the International Day of Yoga (June 21) have been repurposing yoga and naturopathy into our lives as the ‘new normal’ in a post-Covid19 world. While heavily laced with Indian ethical and spiritual doctrines, naturopathy as a system is, in fact, a German import. We attempt to trace…
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The Pandharpur wari is a 21-day pilgrimage procession from various parts of Maharashtra to Pandharpur, the abode of Lord Vitthal. While the wari culminates on Ashadi Ekadashi, the revelry continues on till Guru Purnima. Attracting lakhs of devotees each year, we give an overview of this 800-year-…
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Choked to death with a shoelace for his poetry, Mir Ja’far Zatalli did not believe in sophisticated language and mincing words. Long ignored, we look at how Zatalli was a pioneer in creating a small but effective oeuvre of Urdu poetry and prose during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (In…
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In 1897, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, known for his criticism of the British, was charged under Section 124A for his views in Kesari. On Tilak’s 100th death anniversary, Sahapedia analyses how this was an important moment in India’s political history as it marked the criminalisation of dissent in the grand…
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While the world knows about Raja Ravi Varma and his contribution to modern Indian commercial art, not many know that even his younger brother and assistant, C. Raja Raja Varma, was regarded as one of the ‘the foremost painters of 19-century India’. Not only that, his sister Mangalabai Thampuratty…
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