Dargahs: Abodes of the Saints edited by Mumtaz Currim, George Michell
Ladakh: Culture at the Crossroads edited by Monisha Ahmed, Clare Harris
The Elegant Image: Bronzes from Indian Subcontinent in the Siddharth K Bhansali Collection
I think we chose the books to show the range of topics that Marg covers. Also they were topics close to our heart – Ladakh to mine (as that is where I have been working for over 25 years) and Dr Pal chose ‘Elegant Image’ because it is a gem of a collection by a private collector in the US. I chose the Dargah book because it represents Islamic art and ideas and values – as a religion Islam and Muslims around the world have got such a bad name since 2001 that I feel it is also important to show that Islam does have another face. In a sense the 3 books show different facets that together make India.
Biography
Monisha Ahmed is currently Associate Editor, Marg. She is an independent researcher who has been writing about material culture in Ladakh since 1987. Her doctoral degree from Oxford University developed into the book Living fabric – Weaving among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya (Orchid Press, 2002). She has authored several articles on textiles and material culture of the Himalayan Buddhist world, co-edited with Clare Harris Ladakh – Culture at the Crossroads (Marg, 2005) and with Janet Rizvi authored Pashmina – The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond (Marg, 2009). She is co-founder and Executive Director of the ngo ‘Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation’.
Artist's Atheneum 