RECENT
NOTICEBOARD
A. Ramachandran (1935-2024): The End of an Era
by Gayatri Sinha and Umara Zainab
A look back at the evolution of the modernist artist’s career, and the legacy of his drawings, paintings and sculptures, widely appreciated for their explorations of Indian mythology and nature.
26 Feb 2024
An Elegy to the Universal Soldier in T.V. Santhosh’s History Lab
by Mrinalini Vasudevan
Santhosh’s latest exhibition engages with the history and evolution of war and violence, and the passive ways in which we have come to consume both in an increasingly mediatized world.
26 Feb 2024
Architectures of Momentum: In Conversation with Rameshwar Broota
by Critical Collective
The artist’s oeuvre has been a long-standing testament to how he addresses the passage of time in defined forms and abstractions.
26 Feb 2024
Nandalal Bose at Akar Prakar
by Gayatri Sinha
An ongoing exhibition presents Bose’s postcards and paintings, which reveal his aesthetic approach to landscape, alongside some of his seminal illustrations for the Indian Constitution.
26 Feb 2024
Artists and the Weather Station
by Namrata Ghosh and Radhika Sharma
28° North and Parallel Weathers brings together art, science and digital intervention in tracking weather changes in regions along latitude 28° North.
26 Feb 2024
In Search of New Horizons: Muhanned Cader's Island in the Sky
by Mrinalini Vasudevan
The landscapes captured in the Sri Lankan artist's first solo exhibition in India become metaphors for themes of home, belonging, exile and multicultural identities.
26 Feb 2024
Revisiting Another Master: Ram Singh Urveti
by Umara Zainab
The myths and legends of the Gond community have found new life in the painterly canvas of Urveti over the last three decades.
26 Feb 2024
When Artists Reimagined ‘The Waste Land’
by Radhika Sharma
Art Heritage’s exhibition revisits T. S. Eliot’s classic, Reimagining The Waste Land, through the works of five contemporary Indian artists.
26 Feb 2024
ART, MEDIA AND LAW
Art in the Indian Constitution
by Umara Zainab
The illustrations in the Indian Constitution must be recovered and contextualized within the guiding principles that went into the nationalist ethos and history-writing in the 1950s.
26 Feb 2024
The Sounds of Radio in India
by Vebhuti Duggal
This article looks at how radio policies affected the creation of sound standards on All India Radio and produced and maintained a citizen-listener over the decades.
23 Jan 2024
Soap Advertising: Decently Negotiating Law, Identity and Nation
by Sreyashi Mukherjee
On the navigation of notions of decency and obscenity through female-centred soap commercials from the 1980s and 1990s.
22 Dec 2023
Queer and Here: Sexuality in Hindi Cinema
by Madhavi Menon
A look at how we understand queerness in India, and Hindi films which do or do not count as “queer-friendly”.
27 Nov 2023
The Many Memories of Bahadur Shah Zafar and Hindustan
by Umara Zainab
The subcontinent’s last Mughal emperor holds a mirror to older pasts of a syncretic 'Hindustan' that were later usurped by a more tightly controlled narrative of 'British India'.
26 Oct 2023
On Birsa Munda: In Conversation with Rahul Ranjan
by Vasudha Chatterjee
On the commemoration of adivasi leader Birsa Munda, the politics of memory, and subaltern resistance through the act of making statues, samadhis and memorial sites.
25 Sep 2023
Interview with Ishan Tankha
by Critical Collective
Ishan Tankha addresses questions on the aesthetics of photojournalism, the challenges thrown up by social media circulation, and photography's current stakes in claims of truth.
20 Jul 2023
Review: How Secular is Art?
by Malvika Maheshwari
The author writes on the relationship between devotion, secularism, art and politics, as explored in a new book edited by Tapati Guha-Thakurta and Vazira Zamindar.
20 Jul 2023
ART AND DESIGN
More than Meets the Eye: Reading Between the Threads
by Damini Kulkarni
Currently on display at Mumbai’s National Gallery of Modern Art, Sutr Santati demonstrates how threads of gentle subversion can be teased into and out of the fabric of dominant narratives.
23 Jan 2024
Changing Images of an Ideal World in Adarsh Balak
by Rajni Chandiwal
This essay traces the journey of the Adarsh Balak image and the interpretation and relevance it acquired in different eras of pre- and post-independent India.
22 Dec 2023
Interview with Vikram Goyal
by Critical Collective
Known for his creative engagement with material, the designer talks about the inspiration behind his designs, which often transition from being furniture to becoming unique sculptural pieces.
22 Dec 2023
Finding Durga in the Home and the World: Puja Special Anandamelas
by Amreeta Das
This essay looks at the changing depictions of the goddess and her festivities in the covers and contents of a popular Bengali children’s magazine.
26 Oct 2023
Reflecting on Chinese Reverse Glass Paintings in India
by Zoya Kathawala
A study of the reverse glass paintings made by Chinese artists for export to the Indian and British markets.
25 Sep 2023
Craft Traditions in Flux: Bengal’s Partition and Beyond
by Archi Banerjee
The article describes the impact of the 1947 Partition of Bengal on the traditions of clay and shola crafts, while reflecting on the long term changes in their making and design.
25 Sep 2023
The Gaiety Theatre, Shimla
by Shailaja Khanna
Mapping the significance of the Gaiety Theatre, its trajectory from colonial times to present day and the efforts to restore its historical materiality.
22 Aug 2023
Fashion in Flux: Shahpur Jat’s Dada Jungi Lane and New ‘Middlebrow’ Design
by Sanchita Khurana
The author examines the rise of a 'middlebrow' wedding couture culture while tracing a peculiar itinerary of gentrification in Delhi's Shahpur Jat.
20 Jul 2023
art history
The River of Madhurya: A Folio from the Isarda Bhagavata Purana
by Vedant Srinivas
Sacred Waters of the Jain Cosmos
by Pawan Jain
The River Goddess Ganga
by Akshay Kumar Maitra
The Confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna
by R.C. Majumdar
The Many Colours of Kali
by Soumyadeep Roy and Sahishnu Bhattacharyya
Kali as Image and Epithet
by Gayatri Sinha
Reinterpreting the Goddess in Kali for Women: Interview with Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon
by Umara Zainab
Antiquity and Characteristic Features of Kali-Worship in Bengal
by Chintaharan Chakravarti
CINEMA/OTT
Extract from the forthcoming Cinema aur Sansar: Kumar Shahani se Udayan Vajpeyi ka Samvaad
by Vedant Srinivas (translator)
The late director Kumar Shahani speaks with the author Udayan Vajpeyi.
The Cinema of Whispers
by Darshana Sreedhar Mini
The recent works of Don Palathara, Fazil Razak and Prasanth Vijay exemplify Malayalam cinema’s tryst with muted realism and violence within the home.
(Un)concealing the Comedy: The Cinematic Aesthetics of Veiling in Laapataa Ladies
by B. Geetha
The review looks at the veil as an aesthetic object that harbours the paradoxical impulses of (un)concealment in the diegesis.
An Intuitive Cinéaste: Konkana Sen Sharma’s Steadfast Reign as Actor-Filmmaker
by Sarah Niazi
A profile of Sen Sharma’s career in film performance and direction.
The Moral Right to Violent Vigilantism in Rohit Shetty’s Copverse
by Debanjan Dhar
On the excesses of Rohit Shetty’s films and recent web series, that present police officers as morally irreproachable in their dispensation of justice.
Rituals of Revelations: The Bollywood Celebrity Talk Show
by Uttaran Das Gupta
Celebrity talk shows use the confessional mode to provide access to the private lives of the rich and famous. But what if the host is more powerful than their guests?
Towards and Away from Home: Registers of Contemporary Cinema from Darbhanga
by Rituparna Sengupta
On the rise of independent cinema from Bihar that explores common themes of belonging and aspiration, migration and homecoming.
Killer Soup of Styles, Modes and Genres, Intoxicated by Magic
by Sachin
The seemingly disparate assemblage of characters and references in Abhishek Chaubey’slatest series comes together in a magical concoction, that disrupts and subvertscinematic expectations.
Lens Based Practices
Heritage Urbanity: A Region and Its Identity
by Akash Bharadwaj
On how the creation of a new identity for Bihar is rooted in the assimilation of its cultural heritage and plans for urban development.
The Evening Redness in the East
by Adreeta Chakraborty
A close study of Arko Datto’s The Shunya Raja Monographies, which captures the slow, ongoing climate devastation in the Sundarbans.
Interview with Vishal Kumaraswamy
by Critical Collective
Focused on subaltern experiences and identity, the artist speaks about the use of experimental technology in the making of his art. (2023)
A Parsi Pictorialist - Complex Images and Stylized Models
by Malavika Karlekar
The author provides a brief biography of the career and art of the Parsi photographer, Shapoor Bhedwar. (2013)
The Second Creature - The Creation of an Epic Visual Document of a New Nation
by Malavika Karlekar
Reflections on Sunil Janah’s photographs of tribal women. (2011)
Phenomenology of the Documented Image: Predispositions, Memory of Lived Experiences and Epistemophilia
by Anusha Datta
Present-ing Past-ness through Family Photographs: A Walkthrough of My Grandfather’s Collection
by Meera Menon Pattaruveettil
The author examines her family photographs. (2022)
The Suburban Fortress and Images of Migration Workers against the Suburban Landscape in Covid-19
by Tanya Maheshwari
Covid-19 and the idealist imagery of the suburbs. (2022)
CC ARCHIVES
In Remembrance: Kavita Singh (1964-2023)
by Saloni Mathur, Jyotindra Jain, Parul Dave Mukherji and Deepti Mulgand
Colleagues, collaborators and students remember Kavita Singh's vitality and intellectual engagement iin India’s cultural sphere.
Theatre Mementos: Reading Bengali Theatre Playbills from the 1940s
by Amreeta Das
These playbills provided insights on the socio-political world of the times and the lives of lesser-known stage practitioners. (2023)
Tracing Ravishankar Raval’s Art Pedagogy in the Gujarati Periodical Kumar
by Vasvi Oza
Ravishankar Raval advocated for new approaches to art education in colonial India through the magazine, Kumar. (2023)
The Santiniketan School of Art
by Benode Behari Mukherjee
The article traces the significance of the Kala Bhavan in the evolution of modern art in Bengal while exploring the impact of Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. (1935)
Past and Future Lives of an Institution:The Hindu/Presidency College Archive
by Sandipan Mitra
On the processes of maintaining, curating and preserving institutional histories. (2023)
Indian Art and Ideology
by Asit Kumar Haldar
The article explores the close relationship between the study of Indian philosophy, the use of symbolism and the development of Indian art. (1951)
A Great Friend of India: Robert Skelton (1929-2022)
by Gulammohammed Sheikh
From their first meeting at the V&A in the 1960s, Gulam Sheikh reminisces about the legendary museum curator and scholar of Indian art, with whom he shared a six-decade-long friendship.
Correspondence between Gulammohammed Sheikh and Robert Skelton (1966-1994)
In the rich exchange of letters between Sheikh and Skelton, we are given insights into Skelton’s travels and research in Indian painting.
MUSEUMS
The Alipore Museum: Caught in a Grey Zone
by Mrinalini Vasudevan and Namrata Ghosh
The conversion of Kolkata's Alipore Jail into a museum raises important questions about the repurposing of heritage sites in public spaces.
'Renovations' at Jallianwala Bagh
Gurmeet Rai speaks to Gayatri Sinha about the changing attitude to monuments and memorials, Jallianwala Bagh and issues facing the revamping of Sabarmati ashram.
Objects and Their Journeys: In Pursuit of the Provenance of Things
by Jyotindra Jain
The author explores the rising debate around the restitution of cultural heritage, the ethics behind collecting practices in museums and the evolving definition of “provenance” in this context. (2021)
Interview with the curatorial team of the SCO Virtual Exhibition in National Museum, Delhi
by Critical Collective
On the pioneering virtual exhibition showcasing the shared Buddhist heritage of the SCO countries. (2021)
Jane Lombard Prize 2020-22 for Avni Sethi and The Conflictorium Museum
by Sandhya Bordewekar
The writer makes the case for spaces that open up histories of individual and collective trauma. (2020)
"We need to find new ways of engaging the public imagination"
by Critical Collective
Tasneem Mehta speaks to CC about museum and conservation practices in the face of a global lockdown. (2020)
Framing the Grand Historical Narrative of Indian Cinema
by Damini Kulkarni
The NMIC frames cinema less as an art form and more as a national legacy, writes Kulkarni. (2020)
A Tryst with History
by Arundhati Chauhan
A survey of cultural projects and initiatives announced in the last few months that suggest a move afoot to overhaul India’s museums sector. (2020)
Curators and Exhibitions
Invisible Threads
by Nadia Nooreyezdan
Mycelial Legacies brings together works by 30 women alumna of the Baroda School, allowing us to trace their impact and make connections that might otherwise have remained hidden.
Silent Seasons: A Review
by Gayatri Sinha
Building on her previous engagements with environmental change and the age of the anthropocene, Vibha Galhotra's latest work foregrounds an apocalyptic vision of the plight of the last man standing.
A Review of Postcards from Home
by Bharati Chaturvedi
Through her on project, Manisha Gera Baswani documents stories of Partition from artists who trace their roots to India and Pakistan.
Divergent Horizons: An Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art from the Regional Centre’s Collection since 1990
by Suresh Jayaram
On the commonalities of genres employed by contemporary artists in the production of their artworks.
Kochi Biennale.. a decade later, a work in progress?
by Gayatri Sinha
The recent storm within the Kochi Muziris Biennale raises the question, is the event too big to fail?
Kochi Student Biennale, 2022
by Sohorpem Kazingmei
The 2022 Kochi Students’ Biennale finds itself in the throes of ‘process’. Where does it lead?
The Opening of the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP): Interview with L N
by Gayatri Sinha
Altering the museum skyline in Bengaluru, MAP draws on a rich personal collection to stage new narratives in art history.
Sheetal Gattani: Flying Below the Radar, with 50 Layers of Pigment
by Gayatri Sinha
The haptic processes that Gattani employs on painted surfaces lend her work a tantalizing depth and luminosity.
artists
Displacement
by Birgid Uccia
Through the exhibition Displacement, Karmakar revisits and further interrogates questions of identity, memory and belonging, first explored through the series, Home (2016).
Endnote
by Mortimer Chatterjee
The catalogue essay closely examines the art of Aditya Pande which encourages viewers to consider the processes involved in its creation.
Home as Studio
by Sudhir Patwardhan
The artist reflects on the influence of family narratives within domestic spaces on the artworks for his 2011 exhibition at Sakshi Gallery.
Raghav Kaneria
by Critical Collective
Looking at the artist’s body of work which ranges from sculptures, drawings and murals to serigraphy and photography.
Lalit Mohan Sen
by Manu Thacker and G. Venkatachalam
A biographical note on Lalit Mohan Sen and progression of his works from using traditional Indian styles to adopting a more Western approach to this art. (1950)
For Recipients Unknown (bottled message, with return address)
by Chaitanya Sambrani
Jitish Kallat’s 2020 show, Terranum Nuncius explores the theme of conversing with the unknown.(2022)
Altar- A Photographic Exhibition
by Ram Rahman
In a review of the 2009 show Altar, Ram Rahman writes on the relationship between photography and architectural spaces explored by the artist Samit Das. (2009)
Pratima Devi
by Manu Thacker and G. Venkatachalam
The authors profile the painter Pratima Devi and the influence of the Tagore family on her artistic practice. (1950)
Artists Groups and Collectives
Drifting Threads: Cholamandal Artists’ Village over fifty years
by Ashrafi S Bhagat
Ashrafi Bhagat traces the past, present and future of the Cholamandal Artists' Village in Chennai.
How to Feel a Leak?
by CAMP
CAMP elaborates on their work, THE RADIA TAP(E)S as part of The Ungovernables, New Museum, New York Triennial (2012).
CONA: Points of Reflection
by Hemali Bhuta
Hemali Bhuta on the founding of CONA as a pedagogical structure for artists.
New Group: In conversation with Amitava Das and Mona Rai at New Delhi, April 23, 2014
Amitava Das and Mona talk about the formation of the New Group in 1974.
The Calcutta Group - Its Aims and Achievements
by Prodosh Das Gupta
Prodosh Das Gupta highlights the premise of founding the Calcutta Group in 1940.
Indian Society of Oriental Art
by James H. Cousins
Artists Conversations
Conversation with Gigi Scaria
by Sohorpem Kazingmei
The artist highlights the centrality of city landscapes in his work, while speaking of his experiments with printmaking as part of his artistic process.
On Nature and Abstraction: An Interview with Ganesh Haloi
by Namrata Ghosh
The artist talks about how his early life and experiences greatly influenced his practice.
how many songs from a single note?
by Shaunak Mahbubani
Shaunak Mahbubani interviews artist, Rah Naqvi about her recently closed exhibition, how many songs from a single note?
Today is Better than Yesterday: In Conversation with Surekha
by Mallika Visvanathan
Surekha speaks about her recent works displayed at 1Shanthiroad, Bengaluru, made in response to the feelings of stagnation and loss which characterized the first waves of Covid-19.
Pieces of Home: In conversation with Tanmoy Samanta
The artist discusses his latest series of works created in the midst of the pandemic, which reconsider the ideas of home and earthly existence, using pigment, rice paper and shape-shifting collages.
Walking with the Waves
by Gayatri Sinha
Atul Dodiya speaks to Gayatri Sinha about his watercolours on display at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, which reveal his responses to the pandemic and his views on asceticism, nature and art history.
In conversation with Ravi Agarwal
CC speaks to artist Ravi Agarwal about the relationship between art and ecological activism in informing the curatorial vision of his recent exhibition 'New Natures: A Terrible Beauty is Born'.
In Conversation with Randhir Singh
On photographing buildings across Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as part of “The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947-1985,” at the MoMA.
ON GENDER
Reading Silenced Identities Through Visual Archives: Indian Travelling Ayahs in Service of the British Empire
by Arunima Datta
On the ayahs (Indian maidservants) employed by elite Indian and European families.
‘Lovely’ Housewives and Glamorous 'Modern' Girls: Cosmetics Advertising in India, 1920s-1950s
by Mobeen Hussain
The House as Stage: Keyabat Meye and the Lives of Bengali Women
by Namrata Ghosh
The queer-feminist collective, Samuho explores the changing position of Bengali women in 19th-century society.
Women’s Voices in Shah Abdul Latif’s Risalo
by Lara Scaiola
Sindhi and Punjabi folktales with beguiling heroines are transformed into spiritual allegories in the medieval Sufi poetry of Shah Latif.
The Cult of the Old Lady
by Nanimadhab Chaudhuri
The archival essay examines worship of an imageless tribal deity of eastern India and the response of tribal religions to the increasing pressures from Hinduism.
Foregrounding Women's Realities in Documentary Cinema: A Conversation with Uma Chakravarti
by Umara Zainab
Uma Chakaravarti unpacks her own journey as a feminist filmmaker.
Reclaiming the Aging Female Star: Zeenat Aman and Rekha
by Mrinalini Vasudevan
Two recent Vogue cover stories provide fertile ground for revisiting the actresses' lives and careers, while championing the female gaze and voice.
The Adventurous Career of Ghasiti Begam
by Krishna Kanta Misra
A biographical profile on the life of Ghasiti Begum and her political interventions in the court of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal. (1949)
AESTHETICS THEORY
Anandavardhana's Treatment of Aprastutaprasamsa
by P. K. Narayana Pillai
The essay discusses the degree of novelty in Anandavardhana’s theory of dhvani, and the rhetorician’s opinions regarding the contributions of his successors towards the theorization of dhvani. (1957)
A Critical Survey of the Ancient Indian Theatre Accordance with the Bharata Natyasastha and its Commentators
by Subba Rao
Construction of ancient Indian theatre, as propounded in Bharata's Natyashastra is interpreted in an objective manner by comparing the theoretical with the practical aspects. (1953)
An Outline of Indian Aesthetics
by Nagendra
On the various speculations pertaining to the nature of Beauty in the Indian context and the contribution of Indian poetics and philosophy in its formulation. (1934)
The Dynamism of the Indian Concept of Rasa
by K S Ramaswamy Shastri
On the concept and origin of Rasa in Indian aesthetics and the development of its elements. (1935)
Some Modern Critics and Ancient Texts on the Aesthetic Value of Hindu Images
by N.V. Mallavya
On the aesthetic and iconographical aspects of ancient Indian sculpture as outlined in the Agamas and Shastras. (1942)
Anandavardhana’s Treatment of Pratibha in Relation to Dhvani
by K. Krishnamoorthy
On the concept of Pratibha or creative imagination brought about by the agency of Dhvani. (1950)
Peculiarities in the Alamkara-Section of the Agni-Purana
by Suresh Mohan Bhattacharya
On the unique modes of treatment accorded to Alamkara and its constituent elements in the Agni Purana. (1960)
Studies in Dhvanyaloka, the Adivakya in Dhvanyaloka
by V.A. Ramaswami Sastri
On the importance of dhvani in communicating the essence of emotion inherent in poetry and drama. (1955)
CURATING SOUTH ASIA
Parvez's performative gestures:The subversion of the capitalist art economy
by Deeksha Nath
The author writes on performance and lens based artist Parvez’s seven month long project in Switzerland questioning the presumptions around audience interaction and the sites of art presentation.
Restless Creations: Adeela Suleman's Art for Social Change
by Virginia Whiles
Virginia Whiles speaks with sculptor Adeela Suleman on her use of found objects and dark humour in her work, as a way of exploring social and ecological violence, tragedy and censorship in Pakistan. (2021)
Positionings
by Salima Hashmi
With Bani Abidi's nomination for the Böttcherstraße prize, Salima Hashmi writes on a generation of Pakistani women artists' work "as a site for mutinous content and personal empowerment.” (2020)
TANTRA: Enlightenment to Revolution
by Virginia Whiles
The author reviews the ongoing exhibition at the British Museum through a ‘socially distanced’ critique, following online talks and exchanges with colleagues. (2020)
Contesting and coalescing voices from Dhaka Art Summit
by Mustafa Zaman
In its 5th edition, DAS invited the voices of different communities, giving them a chance to articulate in their own terms, the legacies of colonial/postcolonial modernity. (2020)
Lahore Biennale: ‘between the sun and the moon’
by Virginia Whiles
The second Lahore Biennale stages a polyphony of artistic voices weighing in on the shared cultural and political history of South Asia and the Middle East. (2020)
Bani Abidi: Funland
Curators Hoor Al Qasimi and Natasha Ginwala on a major survery of Bani Abidi's works exhibited at Sharjah Art Foundation. (2019)
Sharjah Diaries | In Conversation with Nidhi Mahajan
by Gayatri Sinha
The curator on her installation-performance "Silences and Spectres of the Indian Ocean." (2019)
CC Books
Book Review: History of Urban Form of India
by Sandhya Bordewekar
Pratyush Shankar's book looks at indigenous models of urban planning that emerged in response to local geographic, historical and socio-economic orientations.
Doing History at a Slant: Remembering the Kasauli Art Centre
by Arushi Vats
A review of Belinder Dhanoa’s Kasauli Art Centre (1976-1991)
Book Review: Postnational Perceptions in Contemporary Art Practice
by Kamayani Sharma
Bindu Bhadana examines the art of Chitra Ganesh, Tejal Shah and Nikhil Chopra.
Pushpamala N. and "the Artistic Ways of Viewing the Sacred"
by Annapurna Garimella
The book is a collection of articles reflecting on Pushpamala N.’s reimagination of popular images within the framework of nationalism and motherhood.
Book Review: The Vanishing Point
by Hemant Sareen
The Vanishing Point, edited by Rashmi Devi Sawhney, brings together filmmakers, theorists, and moving image artists to trace the peripatetic afterlife of celluloid in India.
Modernism/Murderism: Remembering a ‘Forgotten Debate’ on Modern Art!
by Sandhya Bordewekar
The book looks at the debate on Modern Art between Pherozeshah Rustomji Mehta and Jyoti Bhatt, from the pages of Kumar.
Readings on the Temple: Review of Marg's 75th Anniversary Volume
by Pika Ghosh
This review focuses on a volume of Marg's archival essays on the evolution of temple-building, iconography and worship in India.
Moving Beyond Pain: Review of Vasudha Thozur’s Diaries, Projects, Pedagogy
by Meera Menezes
Conceptualised as “montaged text and image documents”, the book provides insights into Thozhur’s painterly concerns and thought processes.
CC REFERENCE
Media / Materiality / Comics: Conversations with Three Graphic Artists
by Arunava Banerjee
The author interviews three artists on the potential of comics to generate different trajectories for art, media and reportage.
What’s Going Wrong with Thanjavur’s Chola and Maratha Legacies?
Even as cinema screens light up to Chola supremacy, their material heritage needs urgent attention.
Drawing Dissent: The Evolution of Editorial Cartooning in India
by Neha Yadav
With their potential to speak truth to power, political cartoons in the print media represent the last stand in a severely compromised media landscape.
Resistance of the Everyday Kind
Artist Orijit Sen speaks with Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi about satire and resistance over time and how new avenues of circulation such as Instagram have altered his approach to art making.
Comics, Cartoons and the Politics of Censorship in Digital India
by Debanjana Nayek
Granting a substantial amount of liberty to cartoonists to create and share their work with a large audience, digital viewership also generates new forms of censorship and bullying.
Current and Future Imprints in Jaipur’s Textile Landscape
by Mrinalini Vasudevan
On the hand-block printing industry that has grown around Jaipur, the problems that plague the artisans and recent government and private initiatives working towards its revival and preservation.
Crafting Cultures at Good Earth: An Interview with Anita Lal
Anita Lal, the first Indian to collaborate with Christie’s on their design collection ‘Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds’, talks about the cusp of geography and culture that inspires her work.
Nila House - A Vision in Indigo
by Critical Collective
A generous studio-workshop-gallery space, Nila House is currently host to the Corona Quilt Project installation.