Lines of Control

India was British India back then. Its borders were far more extensive,spanning Balochistan in the east to Bangladesh in the west

India was British India back then. Its borders were far more extensive,spanning Balochistan in the east to Bangladesh in the west. Years before the modern states were formed,when monarchy was still the order of the day,English cartographer John Tallis and his star engraver and mapmaker John Rapkin attempted to sketch the British colony in the far east. Having penned innumerable topographies from the streets of London to the Australian peninsula this was hardly a challenge.

Colourists marked the presidencies and neat borders were decorated with scenes,from horsemen stationed in Lahore to Qutub Minar in another corner. The map has now been framed and is on display at Ojas Art gallery in an exhibition that seeks to understand how India got its boundaries.

Opened on the day India celebrated 66 years of Independence,the exhibition comprises over 100 maps and engravings from the 18th century to 1946. It gives an idea of how the boundaries were back then, Anubhav Nath,Director of the gallery. He has sourced these collectables over a decade. Naths sources range from junk dealers to flea markets world over,from Amsterdam to London and Paris. Nath picks a particularly rare handcoloured map of the Indian subcontinent from the mid 1800s by French mapmaker Bonne. This is very difficult to find, he says.

The oldest in the collection is a map of Mughal India from the 1750s. Other highlights include the first edition of French cartographer M Lapies 1829 map of India and Southeast Asia,and a 1761 map of India and China by another Frenchman,S Robert De Vaugondy. Though cartography is yet to be recognised as an art in India,Nath is hopeful. Cartography is a dying art and no one does the hand sketches anymore. The public does not realise the significance of maps and mapmaking because there is no exposure to these, says Nath. The maps are priced Rs 5,000 upward.

The exhibition is on at Ojas Art,1A,Qutub Minar,Mehrauli Road,till September 20. Contact: 26644145

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram