Rights List by Mapin Publishing

Mapin Publishing

Publishers of quality illustrated books on art and culture of India

crafts of india

Handmade in India 4–5

Chandigarh Revealed 6–7

Le Corbusier’s City Today

Balkrishna Doshi

Paths Uncharted 8–9

Incredible Treasures (HC) 10–11

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India

Incredible Treasures (SC) 12–13

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India

Courtyard Houses of India 14–15

Jali 16–17

Lattice of Divine Light in Mughal Architecture

the amrapali collection

Silver and Gold 18–19

Visions of Arcadia

Rain Dogs 20–21

Seeing you Seeing me 22–23

Magnificent Motorcars of the Maharajas 24–25

Kamasutra 26–27

The Spiritual and the Erotic in Indian Art

Ranjan

Crafts of India

Crafts

Crafts of India

Handmade in India Crafts of India

Handmade in India

made landscape... The thousands and accompanied by terra-cotta jewelry, leather carvings, bamboo baskets and visually stunning display.”

The Wall Street Journal craft values are important future... an astounding 516 regional crafts are covered... impressed.” Library Journal

Editors: Aditi Ranjan | M P Ranjan

Editors: Aditi Ranjan | M P Ranjan

Crafts of India

India

Handmade in India

The Indian way of life is replete with products made with the help of simple, indigenous tools by craftspeople who belong within a strong fabric of tradition, aesthetic and artistry. The range of Indian handicrafts is as diverse as the

The Indian way of life is replete with products made with the help of simple, indigenous tools by craftspeople who belong within a strong fabric of tradition, aesthetic and The range of Indian handicrafts as diverse as the country’s cultural diversity.

A source book of handicrafts, Handmade in India is a unique compendium of Indian crafts. It is a resource of the craft repertoire that reﬂects the diversity of the country, its cultural milieu and the relationships that nurture creativity and ingenuity.This encyclopaedic publication maps the crafts of the country, and captures the traditions that have enriched the day-to-day lives of Indian people while being a source of livelihood for generations of craftspeople. Handmade in India probes into all aspects of handicrafts—historical, social and cultural inﬂuences on crafts, design and craft processes, traditional and new markets, products and tools—unravelling a wealth of knowledge.

A source book of handicrafts, Handmade in India is a unique compendium of Indian crafts. It is a resource of the craft repertoire reﬂects the diversity of the country, its cultural milieu and the relationships that nurture creativity and ingenuity. This encyclopaedic publication maps the crafts of the country, captures the traditions that have enriched the day-to-day lives of Indian people while being a of livelihood for of craftspeople. Handmade in India probes into all aspects of handicrafts—historical, social and cultural inﬂuences on crafts, design craft processes, traditional and new markets, products and tools—unravelling a wealth of knowledge.

Handmade in India is based on extensive ﬁeld work and research, maps out the regional craft clusters identiﬁed across the country on the basis of prevailing craft-work patterns. is closely woven images to reveal the array of crafts in India. Some of these are renowned, like the pinjrakari and khatumband wood work of Kashmir, blue pottery of Jaipur, chikankari embroidery of Lucknow, the kannadi or metal from Aranmula, chappals footwear from Kolhapur, and the bamboo craft of Assam. Other, lesser known, crafts like the paabu or stitched boots Ladakh, paintings from Jharkhand, the making of Kathakali and Theyyam headgear, khadi or tinsel printing in Ahmedabad have also been described in striking detail. The close study of various crafts makes it possible to discern subtle, sometimes unusual, differences in the same craft practiced by distinct regions or communities—like tie-resistdyeing which is called bandhani in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and bandhej in Rajasthan.

Handmade in India is based on extensive ﬁeld work and research, and maps out the regional craft clusters identiﬁed across the country on the basis of prevailing craft-work patterns. It is closely woven with images to reveal the array of crafts in India. Some of these are renowned, like the pinjrakari and khatumband wood work of Kashmir, blue pottery of Jaipur, chikankari embroidery of Lucknow, the kannadi or metal mirrors from Aranmula, chappals or footwear from Kolhapur, and the bamboo craft of Assam. Other, lesser known, crafts like the paabu or stitched boots from Ladakh, jadupatua paintings from Jharkhand, the making of Kathakali and Theyyam headgear, khadi or tinsel printing in Ahmedabad have also been described in striking detail. The close study ofvarious crafts makes it possible to discern subtle, sometimes unusual, differences in the same craft practiced by distinct regions or communities—like tie-resistdyeing which is called bandhani in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and bandhej in Rajasthan.

The ﬁrst of its kind ever attempted, this publication stunning photographs will be a tremendous resource for product and textile designers, artists, architects, interior designers, collectors, development professionals connoisseurs alike. will be of immense value for facilitating worldwide participation in the planning and development of the handicraft sector in India. It also be a useful reference for libraries interested in Indian crafts and culture, and organizations and agencies that work for and with the crafts sector in India.

The ﬁrst of its kind ever attempted, this publication with stunning photographs will be a tremendous resource for product and textile designers, artists, architects, interior designers, collectors, development professionals and connoisseurs alike. It will be of immense value for facilitating worldwide participation in the planning and development of the handicraft sector in India. It will also be a useful reference for libraries interested in Indian crafts and culture, and organizations and agencies that work for and with the crafts sector in India.

With over 3500 colour photographs and 140 maps

With over 3500 colour photographs 140 maps

With over 3500 colour photographs and 140 maps

The Indian simple, fabric is as A source compendium that reﬂects relationships publication that have source probes inﬂuences markets, Handmade maps basis to reveal as the of Jaipur, mirrors bamboo or stitched the making in Ahmedabad study unusual, communities—such Gujarat

The ﬁrst photographs designers, professionals facilitating of the libraries agencies With

Handmade in India

Aditi Ranjan and M.P. Ranjan

Gold Medal in Crafts category at ForeWord Book of the Year Award

“... takes on the monumental task of examining the eye-popping variety of handicrafts made across India’s vast landscape ... The thousands of objects pictured here, and accompanied by detailed notes, include terra-cotta jewelry, leather puppets, wood carvings, bamboo baskets and silver ornaments. ... visually stunning display.”

The Wall Street Journal

“This is a magnificent work, a fabulous reference book, a virtual encyclopaedia of Indian handicrafts... As an encyclopaedia of Indian crafts, Handmade in India is pioneering and comprehensive. Nothing of this kind has ever been published before.”

—Jyotindra Jain, Biblio: A Review of Books

“An important book ... an astounding 516 types of specific regional crafts are covered ... All readers will be impressed.”

—Library Journal

This is a unique compendium that probes into all aspects of Indian handicrafts—historical, social and cultural influences on crafts, design and craft processes, traditional and new markets, products and tools— unravelling a wealth of knowledge. With stunning photographs and based on extensive fieldwork and research, Handmade in India maps out the regional craft clusters identified across the country on the basis of prevailing craft-work patterns.

The first-of-its-kind ever attempted, this volume has proven to be tremendous resource for product and textile designers, artists, architects, interior designers, collectors, development professionals and connoisseurs alike.

Aditi Ranjan is a textile designer, educator and researcher in the field of Indian crafts. M.P. Ranjan was an independent academic and industrial designer.

Published in association with COHANDS and National Institute of Design

576 pages, 3500 colour photographs & 140 maps • 9.5 x 13.5” (241 x 343 mm), hc ISBN: 978-81-88204-57-1 • Third Reprint 2024

To get a preview, please visit:

https://issuu.com/handmade_in_india

Chandigarh Revealed Le Corbusier’s

City Today

Shaun Fynn • with an essay by Vikramāditya Prakāsh

“… visually astute and intimately observed study.”

—Publishers Weekly

“[Sean Fynn] humanises Corbusier’s Chandigarh through his lens.”

—thinkMATTER

“With an astonishing 266 photos contained in its 240 pages, the book is a visual tour deforce …”

—Sean Ruthen, Spacing

Born of a vision of a modern India, Chandigarh—the new capital city of Punjab—was designed by Le Corbusier and created as a statement for an emerging modern nation–state. Nicknamed the City Beautiful, Chandigarh has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. Like all transcendent visionaries, Le Corbusier was adept at taking the iconic and symbolic and using them to fashion his own unique vocabulary. This volume points us towards the way in which his ideas created fertile grounds for architecture and urban planning in Chandigarh, and in India, that encapsulated the visions of the post-war and post-colonial era.

With insightful analyses of multiple buildings across the city, the author illuminates the compositional poetry evident in Le Corbusier’s structures, and the ways in which the patina of time has changed the city. This volume offers commentary on not just the intentions and plan that shaped Chandigarh, but also the dialogue of what they have become. A visceral journey through a remarkable modernist landscape using the photographic medium, Chandigarh Revealed pays homage to the works of a master with reflective observations of a living city.

Shaun Fynn is a photographer, artist and author. A graduate of Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London, he has been a visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design in India and is currently a parttime professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Vikrama¯ditya Praka¯sh, an authority on modernism and Indian architecture, teaches at the University of Washington, Seattle.

240 pages, 243 photographs and 5 maps 9 x 12” (228 x 305 mm), hc • ISBN: 978-93-85360-13-8 • 2017

To get a preview, please visit:

https://issuu.com/chandigarh_revealed

Balkrishna Doshi Paths Uncharted

“… almost makes one feel as if he is sitting in front of you, narrating pieces of his life as he is remembering them.”

—Athulya Aby, ArchitectureLive!

“Text and image are seamlessly woven ... as they might in a personal journal; ... shining a light on the aspirations of a newly independent nation and those responsible for laying its foundation.

—Srimoyee Bagchi, The Telegraph online

Dr. Balkrishna Doshi (1927–2023) was foremost among the modern Indian architects. An urban planner and educator for over 70 years, Doshi had to his credit outstanding projects ranging from dozens of townships and several educational campuses, including those for CEPT University, Ahmedabad, NIFT, New Delhi, and IIM Bangalore. Apart from his international fame as an architect, Doshi was equally known as an educator and institution builder. This autobiography captures Doshi’s career from his childhood to his studies in Bombay and London, his work at Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris and collaboration with Louis I Kahn for IIM Ahmedabad.

From the time he was born into a modest family in the by-lanes of Pune to his struggles and tenacity in excelling in his chosen fields, Doshi’s life is a fascinating and inspiring story. Put together, for the first time, from the lifelong diaries and notes maintained by him, Paths Uncharted is a personal recounting of this remarkable journey unfolding over more than 80 years and across all the continents.

Recipient of several international and national awards and honours, in 2018, Doshi was selected as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, internationally known as architecture’s highest honour. With the continued interest worldwide in his work, this volume brings to the reader invaluable insights into the course of Doshi’s illustrious life, the paths it took over the years, the experience and the learnings.

440 pages, 182 illustrations • 5.8 x 8.27” (148 x 210 mm), sc ISBN: 978-93-85360-62-6 • Reprint 2023

To get a preview, please visit:

https://issuu.com/paths_uncharted

INCREDIBLE TREASURES

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India

Editors: Shikha Jain • Vinay Sheel Oberoi

Photo Editor: Rohit Chawla

Incredible Treasures

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India

Edited by Shikha Jain and Vinay Sheel Oberoi • Photo Editor Rohit Chawla

“The publication offers a stunning view of all world heritage sites of India … described for the first time with informative, accessible commentary and spectacular photographs.”

The Indian Express

The World Heritage Sites listing by UNESCO aims to promote awareness and safeguarding of heritage sites considered to have outstanding value for all humanity. There are 38 such sites in India, as of May 2021, and this volume presents them all together for the first time, with accessible commentary and stunning photographs.

This treasure trail begins deep in the jungles of central India with the prehistoric cave paintings at Bhimbetka, then turning westwards to the rock-cut sanctuaries of Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta. Further north and east are monuments associated with the birth and spread of Buddhism. In the south, mighty stone temples rise in the air, from the Chola temples to the ruins of Hampi, and, in the east, from the Sun Temple to Khajuraho. Other masterpieces of pluralism across the country borrow from Hindu, Jain and Islamic traditions to fashion a distinct identity, such as the Taj Mahal or Rani-ki-Vav. The old cultures come into the new, finding novel vocabularies from colonial masters and Christian Europe, as in the mountain railways of Shimla and Darjeeling or the churches of Goa. From the gelid slopes of the Himalayas to the many wildlife sanctuaries, the natural and mixed properties include biospheres of exceptional beauty and sites of long interaction between people and the landscape.

Incredible Treasures is an homage to India’s long, layered history, its rich biodiversity and the creativity and influence of multiple communities, crafts and religious traditions.

With contributions by Shikha Jain, Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Rohit Chawla, Janhwij Sharma, Amareswar Galla, Amita Baig, Jyoti Pandey Sharma, V.B. Mathur, Rohit Jigyasu, Kiran Joshi and Sonali Ghosh

Dr. Shikha Jain has worked on many nomination dossiers for India and other Asian countries. Vinay Sheel Oberoi served as the Ambassador & Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO from 2010 to 2014. Rohit Chawla is a leading contemporary photographer.

Published in association with UNESCO, Paris & New Delhi.

240 pages, 246 color photographs • 10 x 12″ (254 x 305 mm), hc-plc ISBN: 978-93-85360-71-8 • 2021

To get a preview, please visit:

https://issuu.com/Incredible Treasures

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India INCREDIBLE TREASURES

Editors: Shikha Jain • Vinay Sheel Oberoi

Photo Editor: Rohit Chawla

With

Caves. associated the past. the in

sacred pluralism to

Rani-ki-Vav, Finally, finding Christian Darjeeling, India’s that nowhere Himalayas to

properties and landscape.

layered and crafts

Incredible Treasures

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India

Edited by Shikha Jain and Vinay Sheel Oberoi • Photo Editor Rohit Chawla

“This new edition comes after the resounding success of the first, which showcased India’s exceptional World Heritage Sites to a global audience, deepening appreciation for the tapestry of cultural and natural wonders that defines this remarkable country.”

—Tim Curtis [in his Foreword]

The World Heritage Sites listing by UNESCO aims to promote awareness and safeguarding of heritage sites considered to have outstanding value for all humanity. There are 43 such sites in India, as of July 2024, and this volume presents them all together for the first time, with accessible commentary and stunning photographs.

Incredible Treasures is an homage to India’s long, layered history, its rich biodiversity and the creativity and influence of multiple communities, crafts and religious traditions.

With contributions by Shikha Jain, Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Rohit Chawla, Janhwij Sharma, Amareswar Galla, Amita Baig, Jyoti Pandey Sharma, V.B. Mathur, Rohit Jigyasu, Kiran Joshi, Sonali Ghosh, Meera Iyer and Manish Chakraborti

Published in association with UNESCO, Paris & New Delhi.

260 pages, 269 photographs • 8.33 x 10″ (212 x 254 mm), sc ISBN: 978-93-94501-82-9 • FORTHCOMING

Yatin Pandya

Courtyard Houses of India

Yatin Pandya

“The concepts link[ed] to Indian courtyards … have been very interestingly compiled in this book with examples … a survey of very scholarly expedition, carefully documenting the unearth[ed] treasures in series of drawings that together constitute a piece of art by themselves. … the book is certainly a valuable contribution in understanding courtyard houses of India …”

—Manguesh R. Prabhugaonker, Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects

Inancient Indian sciences, the courtyard assumes the central position as brahmasthana—the nucleus of the living environment. It provides for an open-to-sky outdoor space while being away from the public eye and thus suiting an introverted lifestyle. In this book, the author traces the metaphysical, mythical, socio-cultural, environmental and spatial roles of the courtyard in the domestic architecture of India—from early civilization and Vedic times to Islamic and colonial influences.

This volume documents traditional and vernacular courtyard dwelling types across India within diverse climatic, cultural as well as geographic zones. It then discerns the spatial elements constituting the court, and the arts, the crafts as well as the elements integral to the court. Illustrated with splendid photographs and representative drawings, the book attempts to understand the presence and resolution, continued use and adaptation as well as the diverse interpretations and abstractions of the courtyard.

Yatin Pandya is an author, academician, researcher as well as practising architect with his firm FOOTPRINTS E.A.R.T.H. He has authored numerous papers and several books and has produced many documentary films on architecture. Pandya is a recipient of numerous national and international awards for research.

468 pages, 352 photographs, 333 drawings and 18 maps 9 x 9″ (228 x 228 mm), hc • ISBN: 978-93-85360-09-1 • 2022

To get a preview, please visit: www.issuu.com/Courtyard Houses of India

Lattice of Divine Light in Mughal Architecture

Navina Najat Haidar

Jali

Lattice of Divine Light in Mughal Architecture

Navina Najat Haidar

“The book—a showstopper in itself—captures these very moments of beauty that nourish the soul …”

—Razia Grover, Urban India

“Haidar sheds dappled light on how the aesthetic and the ecological used to be synonymous in architecture.”

—Srimoyee Bagchi, The Telegraph online

A“… beautifully designed and richly informative …”

—Somak Ghoshal, The Hindu

“The strengths of Jali are its beautiful photographs that complement the highly informative essays. Haider’s writing in particular illuminates the concepts behind Islamic design and craftsmanship relevant to jali.”

—Farida R Khan, Asian Review of Books

jali is a perforated stone or latticed screen, with ornamental patterns that draw on the compositional rhythms of calligraphy and geometry. Jalis share a common aim of bringing filtered light into enclosed spaces, while providing protection and privacy. Additionally, they shape the atmosphere of a sacred space, augment the grandeur of palaces and enhance the charm of domestic interiors.

This book explores the delicate beauty of more than 200 jalis across India, from the temple-inspired designs of the Gujarat Sultanate, imperial symbolism and Sufi allusions in Mughal jalis, the innovations and adaptations of jalis across Rajasthan and central India to, further south, calligraphy in pierced stone in the Deccan. With contributions by art historian Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites; George Michell, an authority on South Asian architecture; Ebba Koch, art and architectural historian; and Afterword by film director James Ivory, this lavishly illustrated publication reveals the poetry etched in these stone screens.

Navina Najat Haidar is Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator-inCharge of the Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She is co-author of Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2011) and Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy (2015).

268 pages, 246 photographs

9.5 x 11.6″ (241 x 295 mm), hc • ISBN: 978-93-85360-74-9 • 2023

To get a preview, please visit: www.issuu.com/Jali

Usha R. Balakrishnan

the amrapali collection

Silver and Gold

Visions of Arcadia

Usha R. Balakrishnan

Foras long as Indians have adorned themselves, they have sought to wear jewels that conveyed beauty, power and status. Jewels are believed to provide protection, hope, luck and well-being. More than 40 years ago, two friends, united by a passion for the decorative arts, embarked on an exploration of these unique jewels of India. They were motivated by the everyday jewels of the people in the villages—to discover the sources of their inspiration and to unravel the complex ritual of adornment that resulted in ornaments being fabricated for every part of the body, from the top of the head to the toes. What resulted were visions of Arcadia, leading to the creation of the Amrapali Collection of Indian Jewellery, one of the largest collections of pastoral silver jewellery in the world.

The manifold communities that this collection represents come from different religions, with linguistic differences and diverse cultural sensibilities, but the land that the jewels encompass is geographically contiguous. Beyond adornment, the Amrapali collection presents a vision of harmony with nature, with forms and motifs that draw upon nature and the cosmos, and materials such as shells, grass and bone. They exhibit the amazing technical expertise of simple gold- and silversmiths. This volume presents the jewels in all their glory, not as museum objects or as relics of the past but as a visual language communicating design, aesthetics, tradition and, above all, the artistic expression of adorning the body.

Published in association with Amrapali Museum, Jaipur

Dr. Usha R. Balakrishnan is the Chief Curator of the World Diamond Museum and a pre-eminent historian of Indian jewellery. She is the author of several publications, including Alamkara: The Beauty of Ornament, and has co-authored most recently Treasures of the Deccan: Jewels of the Nizams, one of the twovolume publication devoted to the fabulous jewels and seminal collection of paintings inherited by the Nizams of Hyderabad. Her curatorial projects include ‘India: Jewels that Enchanted the World’ at the Moscow Kremlin Museum, ‘Enduring Splendor: The Jewelry of India’s Thar Desert’ at the Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, and ‘Shringara: Adornment’ at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) Museum, Mumbai.

236 pages, 375 images

9.9 x 13.5″ (252 x 343 mm), hc • ISBN: 978-93-85360-88-8 • Spring 2026

To get a preview, please visit: www.issuu.com/Silver and Gold

RIGHTS AVAILABLE

In 2021, their a hope renowned sought of Goa. beaches photographing and he knew. completely altogether. there with lapping walked followed or even had longer The He began in them vulnerability. whether sense as they looked somewhat a story. came book, thirty very a time, Rain have author royalties, animal

Rain Dogs

Rohit Chawla

“This wonderful book intersperses writings, quotes and poetry with bleakly beautiful images of canine consolation, capturing with poignancy and sensitivity everything that we love in dogs.”

—Tina Brown, author, journalist, editor

“Rohit Chawla’s photographs of Goa’s beach dogs during its fierce monsoons and a harrowing pandemic are an expression of freedom and hope … ”

—Samira Sheth, The Hindu

“With few humans in the frame, Rain Dogs offers an unusual perspective: the interior lives of dogs, a species we’re used to seeing with their eyes trained on us.”

—Anesha George, Hindustan Times

I“ … a record of resilience, survival, and the companionship between man and his best friend.”

—Sandipan Dalal, ESQUIRE

“It’s biting, poetic … puts the spotlight on stray dogs of Goa … their quiet resilience has been immortalised, one rain-drenched frame at a time.”

—Sheya Kurian, the nod

“A much-needed tribute to man’s furry friends …”

—Huzan Tata, VOGUE India

With practised skill, Chawla snaps the world to stillness … you glimpse the embers of a relationship as primordial as life itself—that between a man and his dog.

—Anjuly Mathai, THE WEEK

n 2021 while everyone was shutting their doors to the outside world in a hope to escape the pandemic, renowned photographer Rohit Chawla sought refuge under the monsoon skies of Goa. Except for a few stray dogs, the beaches were deserted. As he walked along the desolate beach, the stray dogs followed him, hoping perhaps for food, or even human company. The dogs had been largely forgotten. Chawla began to photograph them, finding in them a mirror, a frame for his own vulnerability. Three years later, he looked at the images and found, somewhat to his surprise, that they told a story. And so it was that Rain Dogs came to be—as an exhibition and as a book, with contributions from thirty writers complementing Chawla’s very personal photographs that capture a time, a place, and a mood.

Rohit Chawla is one of India’s leading contemporary photographers. As the erstwhile Group Creative Director for the India Today Group and Open magazine, he has conceptualised and photographed over 300 magazine covers. He has had several solo exhibitions across the world and has also done three coffee-table books.

164 pages, 78 photographs, 59 illustrations 5.5 x 7.5″ (140 x 190.5 mm), hc-plc • FORTHCOMING

Seeing you Seeing me

Edited by Emmanuel Lenain • Foreword by Vikram Seth

Seeing you Seeing me is a collection of visual impressions by a professional diplomat–amateur photographer who has been intensively touring India over the years to render in black-and-white highly geometrical images the invisible and elegant structure that lies beneath the ubiquitous kaleidoscope of vibrant colours and striking contrasts, and human cacophony that for most people defines this land of saturation.

The goal is to depict a unique aspect of this wonderful country that sets it apart from all others—the invisible poetry that lies within the most prosaic, at the core of tentacular metropolis or in striving villages.

The photographs are organized in a free flow by association, and not by classification which was quite a challenge since the Cartesian preoccupation with rational organisation proper to any French person has been deeply ingrained in the author through the dry training as a bureaucrat used to cutting problems into pieces and re-assembling them so that they can be solved. Instead, the images follow the spirit of functioning by addition, aligned to the temperament of the country and its people who are accepting of all influences.

Emmanuel Lenain is a professional diplomat from France who began his career participating in the peace negotiations on Kosovo, then served twice in the United States and in China, before being ambassador to India and now to Brazil. All along, Lenain has also been pursuing an assiduous photographic practice documenting with black-and-white highly composed yet spontaneous and resolutely poetic images of the particular aesthetic of the places he was posted to as well as the dramatic changes they experienced. Lenain’s work has been exhibited internationally and in India. His exhibition ‘Invisible Poetry’ has entered the collections of Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris. Lenain has also published two books, The Great Works and From France to India (with Raghu Rai).

Vikram Seth is a celebrated Indian poet, novelist, and travel writer known for his verse novel The Golden Gate and his epic novel A Suitable Boy. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award and WH Smith Literary Award.

192 pages, 95 photographs 10 x 12″ (254 x 305 mm), hc •

Magnificent Motorcars MAHARAJAS OF THE

Gautam Sen

Makarand Baokar • Vrutika Doshi

Gautam Sen

Magnificent Motorcars of the Maharajas

Gautam Sen • Photographs by Makarand Baokar and Vrutika Doshi

The advent of the automobile, with the very first ones arriving on Indian shores by the 1890s triggered off a crazy love story—that between the rajas, the maharajas, the nawabs and a Nizam, and the horseless carriage. The arrival of the automobile changed the lifestyle of Indian royalty, and with it gave rise to an enthralling new passion that was to endure for decades. The choicest of cars with the most unusual of coachworks made their way to India to satisfy the varied tastes of the royalty. Some were ceremonial throne cars, others were hunting cars, then there were cars for wedding and state processions, even special automobiles for the “ladies of the house” to travel in “purdah”.

Outdoing each other in terms of pomp, glamour and splendour, Indian princes and the wealthy merchant class ordered for cars specially constructed for them. For instance, a Ford Model A, a relatively “middle class” car at the time, was custom-made for a wealthy landowner in Gujarat, with silver repoussé decorative work and lace curtains. There was also the famous Swan Car of Calcutta, a 1910 Brooke with the front of the car made to look like a swan that would hiss steam from the nostrils.

Although a few books have been written on the automobiles of the maharajas, none have been comprehensive enough to include the cars from yesteryears as well as the ones that are extant today, with either the descendants of the princely families or the enthusiastic collectors of historic vehicles today in India considered to be the newer set of “maharajas”. Packed with extraordinary photography, this book brings together the most fascinating automotive jewels of princely India.

Gautam Sen founded India’s first automobile magazine Indian Auto in 1986, followed by Auto India in 1993, and the Indian editions of Auto Motor und Sport and BBC’s Top Gear magazines. Serial concours judge and a Vice President at FIVA, he has also authored several award-winning books.

Makarand Baokar, based in Mumbai, is a globally acclaimed automotive photographer. He has established collaborations with leading automotive brands in India, including Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Citroën, Chevrolet, Skoda, Hyundai, and Lamborghini. Baokar has also partnered with Gautam Sen on numerous book projects.

Vrutika Doshi has more than eight years of dedicated experience capturing images of cars, motorcycles, and individuals. She has photographed some of India’s most exceptional historic vehicle collections and her photography has been part of several prestigious publications, including Auto India, deRivas & Ives, and Italy Magazine

400 pages, 550 photographs • 10 x 12″ (254 x 305 mm), hc ISBN: 978-93-94501-09-6 • Fall 2026 To get a preview, please visit: www.issuu.com/Magnificent Motorcars of the Maharajas

Kamasutra

The Spiritual and the Erotic in Indian Art

Alka Pande

Kamasutra

The Spiritual and the Erotic in Indian Art

Alka Pande

The Kamasutra is an ancient Indian text that explores human desire and its role in life; intimacy and relationships; sexuality and pleasure, reflecting the spirit of Indian society and culture of its time. Written between the second and fourth centuries CE by the Indian philosopher Vatsyayana, the Kamasutra is the oldest extant, most influential and iconic Indian treatise on human sexuality and relationships. Exploring the nature of human desire, the Kamasutra posits three primary purposes in human life: dharma (duty), artha (wealth) and kama (pleasure), and advises on how to balance these objectives.

In this publication, author Alka Pande unravels the complexities of this historical text for a contemporary audience from a female perspective. From Vatsyayana to most of its modern-day translators, the male gaze has been at the centre of the Kamasutra’s discourse on intimate relationships, including marriage, love and friendship. Dr Pande’s renewed interpretation of the ‘aesthetics of pleasure’ in this volume covers the entire gamut of erotic Indian literary and art history. Exploring the sexual analogies in the Upanishads, Tantric practices, the god Krishna’s amorous adventures in the Bhagavata Purana, this volume also recounts from the writings that followed the Kamasutra.

From temples to palaces to caves, from miniature paintings to frescoes to temple sculptures, the spirituality and the aesthetics of the erotic is evidenced everywhere in India. Blending literature and art and using hitherto unpublished material on the subject, with an illustrated timeline of eroticism in India vis-à-vis the world from the pre-modern, medieval to modern times, Kamasutra: The Spiritual and the Erotic in Indian Art covers the full spectrum of the Indian concept of kama and its role in human life. The first to bring the female gaze into the study of the aesthetics of the erotic, this book will be of immense interest to lovers of art and literature, eroticism and spirituality, sensuality and transcendence.

Dr Alka Pande is currently the Consultant Art Advisor and Curator of the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. An art historian and curator, her major fields of interest are gender identity and sexuality and traditional arts. Dr Pande taught Indian arts and aesthetics at Panjab University for more than ten years. She has written extensively and edited books on Indian aesthetics, culture and photography. She curated the sculpture gallery at the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, and was the project director of the 1st Museum Biennale of Bihar Museum, Patna. Dr Pande is recipient of the Charles Wallace Award, Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government, and Australian-India Council Special Award.

272 pages, 300 photographs • 9.5 x 13.5″ (241 x 330 mm), hc-plc ISBN: 978-93-94501-59-1 • FORTHCOMING