A Wealth of SCHOLARSHIP

For art historian Aman Nath, 2024 was a great year for art books, demonstrating the range of India's cultural wealth

- Aman Nath

THE CHANDAYAN

Translated by Richard J. Cohen; with essays by Naman P. Ahuja, Vivek Gupta & Qamar Adamjee MARG

₹4,500; 430 pages

The Chandayan, a 14th century Sufi romance composed in Awadhi, is the most sumptuous offering of bound pages in 2024, both in content-the visuals and text-as well as the quality of production. The continuing ishq between languages, cultures, and people' that Marg's general editor Naman P. Ahuja begins his lead essay with, continues with other scholars. This winter, rasikas won't need to sit by the fireplace and warm their bodies and souls. The poet Da'ud's observations and nuances, so well translated by Richard J. Cohen and accompanied by 530 illustrations from the Sultanate period, shall do it all. There are brilliant, multi-layered essays by Qamar Adamjee, who quotes Salman Rushdie, in 'Wonder Tales' on the 'truth' which gives longevity to such tales: 'We find resources within ourselves we did not know we possessed, and so we rise to the challenge'. Vivek Gupta's brilliance, entitled 'Inscribing Orality,' also merits a read: 'A Hinduki song in Turki Script.'

BOMBAY DECO

By Sharada Dwivedi and Rahul Mehrotra PICTOR ₹3,995; 200 pages

Bombay Deco by Sharada Dwivedi and Rahul Mehrotra, and published by Pictor, is a jewel of a book. It comes after UNESCO's recognition of Bombay's interpretation of the French movement les Arts Décoratif, better known as Art Deco. This revised new version of the book is fascinating for me as the well-built Marine Drive, Oval and other buildings I saw as a child, grow beyond the transitory, inch-deep Indian decorative whims and merge officially with the international movement of the 1930s-1950s to become our living Art Deco metromuseum of pride. Long live our urban conservation movements.