Pre-Cantonment Bangalore
We have attempted to draw some inferences pertaining to Bangalore’s environment and its economy at the turn of the nineteenth century, the eve of “Cantonment Bangalore” from various archival sources. An important source on the landscapes in and around Bangalore is Francis Buchanan’s Journey. Another interesting source were the sketches by Home in his “Select […]
Shipbuilding in Beypore
“Vaya-pura was originally called north Parupa-nada (now, Beypore). It is a small town, containing 120 houses of all casts, and has hardly any trade. The situation is most beautiful, on the north side of a river, where it enters the sea. Within, the river has deep water; but, like all those on the coast, has […]
The Great Divergence Debate
India’s position in the Great Divergence debate has remained tentative due to scanty data availability for the medieval and early modern periods. In the years 1800-01, Dr. Francis Buchanan conducted one of the first agricultural surveys in the erstwhile state of Mysore and its adjoining regions. His Journey contains a wealth of information, both quantitative […]
History Tomorrow
The colour of the times is changing. The accelerating pace of technological, economic and social change is transforming livelihoods and landscapes; many face a danger of disappearing altogether in the not-so-distant future. We do not think it appropriate to make a normative judgment on whether this change is socially good or bad. However, we do […]
Iron and Steel Smelting
One of our most important findings from Buchanan’s Journey relate to iron and steel smelting in erstwhile Mysore. Very few people understand that the Maidan or the vast open stretches (Bayalu Seeme) of the Deccan Plateau was the hot-bead of industrial activity; smelting iron and steel for the large-scale manufacture of weapons. Although history speaks […]
On the Old, Old Madras Road
More than 200 years later we are retracing Buchanan’s Journey of 1800-01 through parts of southern India. It took Buchanan a year and few months to complete this task; we realized that ours would take even longer. On his journey from Madras to Seringapatnam (now Chennai to Srirangapatnam) via Bangalore, Buchanan had passed through a […]
The Curse of Talakad
Francis Buchanan never visited Talakad; however, he did visit Malingi (Malingy), a small village opposite Talakad across the banks of the river Kaveri. To us, Buchanan’s recording at Malingi provided a vital breakthrough while researching for our documentary and book on the Curse of Talakad. In spite of our being able to draw some insights […]
Through the Looking Glass
“The most remarkable thing about the place [Muteodu, now Mathodu] is a manufacture of glass that is used for making the rings which are worn round the wrists of the native women, and are called Ballay in the language of Karnata, and Bangri, or Bangadi in that of the Mussalmans … all materials for making […]
