Osian's launches online archive on arts, cinema

A portal that claims to be the world's most comprehensive private textual and visual archive focusing on Indian, Asian, and world arts and cinema has been launched by the Osian's group.
The website, 'Theosianama.Com', brainchild of Neville Tuli, chairman, of Osian's Group went live recently.
"Theosianama.Com represents the first online steps towards building the finest 'university' focusing on Indian and Asian cultural civilisations and world cinema," Tuli told PTI in an emailed interview.
"It is the project which one has been working towards for the last 15 years or so, but mostly behind the scenes as the public attention was upon the auction house and related activities," says Tuli.

A film maker, economist and developmental theorist, Tuli who came to India from England in 1993 says he felt there was "a dire need to collect, archive and preserve the rich traditions of our country."
"I interacted with hundreds of fine creative minds, visited hundreds of architectural sites, art centres and the like, studying and researching every significant document on the subjects, and collecting, archiving and preserving as if there is no tomorrow," Tuli said about the research for the website.

He added that websites like 'theosianama' help in putting forward a clear sense of history and identity, in the absence of which there can be no credible market or educational framework for the subject of arts.

In the portal, the Arts section is sub-divided into ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary arts while the antiquarian books, prints and photography collection contains rare 17th-20th century books, engravings, aquatints, lithographs, chromolithographs, posters, postcards, advertisements, calendars, playing cards, textile labels and maps on the Indian sub-continent.
"Within one year, India and the global public will have a true holistic knowledge-base, not just a fragmented informational database," says Tuli.
Labeling the content provided by his website as "knowledge and far different from information", Tuli says in the digital age, disseminating information is not enough.
"Today it is not enough to just provide information; you must intrinsically link it to the daily physical experience, plus provide perfect data in context so that the jump from information to knowledge to education is fulfilled.