What a Jain merchant’s rare and candid autobiography tells us about life in the Mughal era

Banarasi’s ‘Ardhakathanak’ is one of its kind for its times – delightfully authentic, checkered, and self-revelatory.

Aparna Kapadia

· Aug 08, 2020 · 07:30 am

Caste, class and aspiration: What old cookbooks reveal about new India

Cookbooks have always been about more than just the recipes.

Aparna Kapadia

· Jun 14, 2020 · 07:30 am

In the lockdown, a reminder of the missing histories of women at work

Scant historical records offer us glimpses into their lives.

Aparna Kapadia

· Apr 27, 2020 · 07:30 am

We know all about warrior queens like Lakshamibai. Now, let's talk of medieval India's businesswomen

Mughal queens had several sources of income and were actively involved in trade and commerce.

Aparna Kapadia

· Mar 07, 2020 · 07:30 am

Why Ashoka, the emperor of India who inspired the symbols of new republic, is still worth reading

His ideas were very influential for the generation of Indian leaders who produced the Constitution.

Aparna Kapadia

· Jan 26, 2020 · 09:05 am

What Mumbai’s history of mass protest reveals about its citizens

Why did such a large crowd come out to demonstrate for and against the citizenship act in a city that which many believed was too busy and apathetic to agitate?

Aparna Kapadia

· Dec 28, 2019 · 08:30 am

What the story of Medini Rai, the man who once took on Babur, tells us about biography and history

The complex life stories of men like him illuminate historical processes in ways that are missed by conventional accounts focused on the so-called big picture.

Aparna Kapadia

· Nov 18, 2019 · 06:30 am

On Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, a reminder of the deep roots of the right to protest in India

Kathiawad had a long tradition of resistance, reminding us that the leader’s strategy of non-violent struggle was not quite the aberration it is imagined to be.

Aparna Kapadia

· Oct 02, 2019 · 08:45 am

Why a 15th-century manuscript of Indian recipes lists eight kinds of samosas – none with potatoes

The subcontinent’s long history of global ties is hidden in the plain sight in our kitchens.

Aparna Kapadia

· Sep 09, 2019 · 07:30 am

Chintz, calico, pyjamas: How India’s Indian Ocean textile trade rose in the east and set in the west

Craftsmen and traders from the subcontinent influenced global tastes in fabrics for centuries.

Aparna Kapadia

· Aug 05, 2019 · 12:30 pm

What a 2,000-year-old Greek merchant’s manual tells us about the Indian monsoon and oceanic trade

The ‘Periplus of the Erythraean Sea’ shows how India has been part of an interconnected global network for millennia.

Aparna Kapadia

· Jul 08, 2019 · 06:30 am

Gujarat’s medieval cities were once the biggest in the world – as a viral video reminds us

Today, their significance has been largely forgotten outside the small world of professional historians.

Aparna Kapadia

· Mar 30, 2019 · 08:00 am