Back to India’s realities: In India, post my London return in 2015 November, I was upbeat about creating accessible and inclusive spaces but everything changed with the research here. I became extremely disappointed that I was not able to find visitor surveys or statistics here. Most of our museums do not even know how many... Continue Reading →
Usha Prajapati Varia, the founder of Samoolam, emailed me about an upcoming event in the city. Since she is busy working in London could I attend it? Why not? Of course, anything Usha suggests is always unique - and so it was! I read up about Jiyo from their website, it says there: JIYO !... Continue Reading →
Welcome aboard! You are on a time travel device. And, are advised to hold tight, keep your jaws from dropping and eyes from popping out as Aparna Andhare, the maverick pilot, swooshes you through the lanes and by-lanes of Shekhawati in north east of Rangeelo Rajasthan. The region of Shekhawati is probably one of the... Continue Reading →
My first review as the Mumbai correspondent for Art Fact, the newsletter for ArtsAcre Foundation, Kolkata I could stare at that Persian couple the rest of my life – really! Her hairstyle, their fashionable garments and footwear, his headgear, her direct gaze and his almond dreamy eyes – together they were celebs of their day... Continue Reading →
March is here, everyone will get busy with their financial work in India as this month ends the financial year here. It’s a stressful time when you realise that most of your investments have gone wrong and the essential papers are missing! For a de-stressful time, visit the local museum in your city to marvel... Continue Reading →
#projectinterpret started 2019 with a tour of the nearly 2000 year old Kanheri Caves in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali East, Mumbai. Easy to reach, through winding lush green path, spotting deers enroute, this cave cluster needs to be climbed by foot once a vehicle takes you to its base. Not for the... Continue Reading →
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson One Saturday morning, we went in our quest for the Kondapalli fort - if you had read the previous post then you would know why 🙂 yes, the crafts community that makes... Continue Reading →
A wide variety of beautiful textiles ranging from embroideried, woven, printed and painted comprise India’s rich textile heritage. For most of us, there is a familiarity with most of the textiles coming from all parts of India – like Banarasi, Baluchari, Chikankari, Kalamkari, Kanthas, Kanchivaram, Ikat etc. The skill of Indian weavers is... Continue Reading →
The World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen 1995) declared that an inclusive society is a “society for all in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play”. 13 years later, this definition was changed by the Expert Group Meeting on Promoting Social Integration, Helsinki, to: “An inclusive society is... Continue Reading →
India's first Nobel Laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore wrote in 1929: I was brought up in an atmosphere of aspiration, aspiration for the expansion of the human spirit. We in our home sought freedom of power in our language, freedom of imagination in our literature, freedom of soul in our religious creeds and that of mind... Continue Reading →
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