The royal family of Oudh (1722-1858) were the historically-rich and powerful rulers of their north-Indian state. The Nawabs of Oudh were generous patrons of art, poetry and music. Their royal treasury paid stipends and pensions to dancers, musicians and poets. Public poetry readings were held at the expense of nawabs, where poets from all over the India were invited. These free poetry readings […]
Tag Archives: india
Louis Kahn to Taj Mahal
Last week I discussed Louis Kahn’s sophisticated manipulation of light in the Kimbell Art Museum in Dallas/Fortworth, Texas. That reminded me of how Mughal architects were conscious of the setting of their buildings and controlled the way the buildings would be viewed. Mughal rulers of India (1526-1857), descendants of Mongol and Turkish nomads grew into great patrons of art and especially architecture. They loved to build […]
Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found - By Suketu Mehta
Mehta, raised in Jackson Heights, New York, goes back to the city of his birth, Bombay. A megalopolis of 18 million people crammed on a promontory of 170 square miles, jutting into the Arabian sea. His account of a two-year stay in Bombay produced an intimate but clear-eyed portrait of the city. He takes you to places where only a native-born son can tread. He introduces you […]
Historic Delhi - An Anthology chosen and edited by H. K. Kaul
An excerpt… Mark Twain and the monkeys: “Two of these creatures came into my room in the early morning, through a window whose shutters I had left open, and when I woke one of them was before the glass brushing his hair, and the other one had my note-book, and was reading a page […]
