Mapping the Indian subcontinent

Mapping the Indian subcontinent

An exhibition of unseen historical maps and important engravings, dating between 18th century and 1946, will go on public viewing from Tuesday.

By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANSlife) An exhibition of unseen historical maps and important engravings, dating between 18th century and 1946, will go on public viewing from Tuesday.

Titled 'India: A Mapful Story', the selection of 100 maps by cartographers like Seutter, Rennell, Mortier, Lapie, Bonne and Tallis, will narrate unique stories and show how boundaries have changed over the centuries at the Ojas Art gallery.

As per the gallery, the maps have been printed in England, France, Italy, and the USA, and will go on exhibition from the gallery's personal collection.

"The exhibition presents cartographic works from spanning a period of 350 years. The display does not follow a chronological sequence; it's possible that the two works displayed next to each other are actually two or three centuries apart," said Anubhav Nath, Curatorial Director, Ojas Art.

"These maps have been collected over the last two decades. The visitors will get to see the changing boundaries of India. Depending on the patron/person commissioning the map, the regions changed accordingly. If it were a Portuguese patron, the Portuguese colonies may be shown exaggerated in terms of size!" he told IANSlife.

Cartography -- the art of graphically representing a geographical area -- as an art it was at its zenith in 17th-19th centuries as explorers discovered more places and were also able to mark their exact geographical locations with the help of longitudes and latitudes.

Needless to say, there was widespread commissioning of maps by the West, and some of the collection on display focuses on maps of pre-independence India showing present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Venue: Ojas Art Gallery, 1 AQ, Qutub Minar, Mehrauli, New Delhi

Date: December 03, 2019-January 08, 2020

Time: 11 am to 7 pm everyday except Monday

(Siddhi Jain can be contacted at [e-mail])

--IANS

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