Cartographic Tales: Exhibition shows India in maps across four centuries

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) From shifting borders to changing topographies and the way cities come to be named, an ongoing exhibition displaying a set of nearly 80 maps of Indian territories offers more than just the geographical details of the country.

The exhibition, titled "Cartographic Tales: India Through Maps", at Ojas Art Gallery shows how European cartographers saw India from the late 16th century till 1947.

Cartography, the art of depicting geographical areas, peaked in the 17th-19th centuries as explorers charted new territories and accurately marked locations using longitudes and latitudes to provide insight into the subcontinent's historical geography.

This period saw extensive commissioning of maps by western powers, including England, France, Italy, and the USA.

"India's geography has been shaped over centuries and these maps narrate stories that transcend beyond their intricate demarcations. Each of these rare maps helps people relate to an era or period through their intricate geographical enunciations and altering boundaries that they represent. One tends to discover something new in the same map on a daily basis," Anubhav Nath, curatorial director of Ojas Art, said.

A hand coloured map, titled 'Imperii Magni Mogolis Sive Indici Padschach', and made in 1728, shows the extent of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, as it details the subcontinent and parts of Central Asia from Persia and Khandhar eastward as far as modern day Burma and Thailand.

The map details numerous cities, river systems and trade routes. It also shows how the early cartographers chose to spell the names of the cities, including Deli (Delhi), Candahar (Kandahar), Gislemere (Jaisalmer), and Bicaneer (Bikaner).

Another map, 'Carte particuliere d'une Partie d'Asie ou sont le Isles d'Andemaon, Ceylan, Les Maldives', made in 1700 shows a part of south India and other south Asian island countries like Maldives, Malaysia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and East Coast of Sumatra, establishing maritime routes.

Apart from showing early Indian territories, the maps on a closer look offer a glimpse into the cartographer's creative side through cartouches.

A cartouche is an ornamental drawing that informs one about the map, cartographer's name, and at times the commissioning agency as well.

Some of the maps featured at the exhibition show intricate cartouches that also depict the cartographer's keen observation and opinion of the subcontinent.

"On the maps there is a cartouche, it is essentially the little decorative part that you will see in a map. It will normally have the title, and in many cases there will be some sort of little painting representation, like an illustration and so these are very telling. These cartouches carry a lot of stories and tales, they are very interesting," Nath told PTI The collection also displays maps of pre-Independence India, encompassing present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The exhibition will come to a close on September 22. PTI MAH MAH MG MG