
Picture perfect: Tour British-era India through a postcard exhibition
They showcased India to the world, celebrated everyday life and passed on coded love messages.
Hundreds of picture postcards from the late 1800s and early 1900s now feature in two exhibitions set to open at the Bhau Daji Lad museum on Sunday.
In Paper Jewels: Postcards from the Raj, you can expect to see cityscapes of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, and women characters like Shakuntala and Damayanti printed by the Ravi Varma Press set up near Mumbai in the 1890s. Some of the earliest postcards from India will also be on display, including an 1892 set advertising Singer sewing machines.

The second show highlights works by the late Mumbai master MV Dhurandhar, including a painting of Shivaji’s coronation and portraits of couples from different city communities – Parsi, Khoja, Pathare Prabhu.
“It’s only now that postcards are being recognised as great art forms and a window into the past,” says San Francisco-based historian Omar Khan, who has been collecting postcards for three decades and has curated the exhibition. “Postcards heralded open communication, where anyone could read your messages. So many people used the stamp’s placement as a sort of code. Placing an upside-down stamp, for instance, could mean ‘I love you’.”

The show, co-curated by Rahaab Allana, also includes exhibits from the Alkazi Collection of Photography.
The exhibition MV Dhurandhar: The Artist as Chronicler (1867-1944) celebrates the 151st birth anniversary of the artist, who studied at the JJ School of Art and became its first Indian director. It has been co-curated by Himanshu Kadam and Tasneem Mehta.
“We’ve been talking about putting together such an exhibition for eight years. Dhurandhar has largely stayed in the shadow of Ravi Varma and has failed to get the recognition he deserves,” Mehta says. “In the coronation scene, he painted 95 figures. Each is distinct, with distinct headgear to represent the diversity of communities. This was the kind of eye for detail that Dhurandhar had,” Kadam adds.
A larger retrospective on the artist, Mehta says, is also on the cards at the NGMA.

Uddhav Thackeray reviews restarting local train services for general public

HC order on ‘skin contact’ in sexual abuse to face test
- The HC stated that section 8 of the Pocso Act, which penalizes physical contact with sexual intent without penetration, did not apply here as the minor was still wearing her clothes when the accused groped her.

Furnish relevant parts of charge sheet: Bombay HC to ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta

Mumbai to get five new cyber police stations on Republic Day

Senior Shiv Sena leaders, ministers didn’t attend farmers’ protest in Mumbai

Mumbai: NCB nabs absconding drug dealer Arif Bhujwala

600 teachers, non-teaching staff protest new education policy in Mumbai

Mumbai: ED raids 10 premises of Omkar Group in Yes Bank fraud case

At 16.4°C, mercury drops to Mumbai’s lowest this year

Bullet train: NHSRCL calls for final bids for BKC station in Mumbai

Mumbai Metro-5 corridor to be complete by December 2024: MMRDA

NCP chief Sharad Pawar slams Maha governor, Centre at farmers’ rally in Mumbai

Maharashtra crosses 100,000 Covid vaccinations

Maharashtra: Schools expect good turnout with Class 5 to 8 starting from Wednesday
