Illuminating India's history through maps

A map by a Dutchman dismantled the virtual trade monopoly of the Portuguese over India until the beginning of the 17th century. I
The Dutch merchant, trader and historian Jan Huyghen van Linschoten had in 1596 published a book "Itinerario", which graphically displayed for the first time in Europe detailed maps of voyages including those to India.
The revolutionary nature of Linschoten's discoveries carried out while he was in Portuguese employ in India can be epitomised by his excellent map, that forms part of the exhibition, "Cosmology to Cartography", which opens on August 11 at the National Museum here.
"Linschoten's map was based on stolen Portuguese manuscripts, of the lands bordering the Northern Indian Ocean, which helped to introduce a number of rival European players to India," says Alex Johnson, who has co-curated the exhibition with Vivek Nanda.

"Published in 1596, it proved to be a 'tell-all' book exposing Portugal's secrets on India and South-East and East Asia. According to the 'New York Times' back then, it became a bestseller," says Johnson.
The exhibition that comprises 72 maps, 70 from the collections of Kalakriti Archives in Hyderabad and two from the museum itself, captures the journey from mythical and abstract towards the realm of science and empiricism, thereby illuminating Indian history through the prism of several of world's rare maps.

The show has been broadly divided into two sections of 'Cosmology and Pilgrimage' and 'Cartography.'
"From a diversity of cultural perspectives the exhibition lends unique insights into how space and place was conceived over the centuries," says Johnson.

A smaller rendition of the exhibition was presented earlier at the Kochi Biennale 2014-15.
The first section of the show delves into the "Hindu Universe" where the 'world of mortals' comes alive in Jain cosmic maps. Most maps in the section depict a circular island or Jambudvipa arising from the oceans.
"Jambudvipa, according to the Puranas circumscribes the terrestrial world and is the central island of the seven concentric island continents separated by encircling oceans or rivers. At the very epicentre of Jambudvipa is the highly symbolic Mount Meru, often represented by a point or a small circle," says Johnson.