OUR STORY
Our mission is to preserve and promote the artistic and cultural heritage of Indic traditions worldwide. We pursue this goal through education, public advocacy, publishing research papers and books, producing documentaries, and archiving materials such as music and artistic images. By making these resources accessible, we aim to help the public understand and appreciate the creators and their cultural heritage.
Art and cultural imagery serve as powerful tools for understanding and valuing any culture, particularly that of South Asia. In an era of widespread misinformation, disseminating accurate knowledge is crucial. Through our platform, we are committed to providing visual resources for those seekers of knowledge. Our collection includes publications by various authors and websites dedicated to South Asian art and culture. Some of the images in our archive are rare due to historical factors, including destruction, theft, and vandalism, making their preservation even more valuable. We ask that you treat them as relics of time and credit their creators appropriately.
This is just the beginning of our effort to provide images and research materials that inspire learning, enjoyment, and appreciation of South Asian creativity. We anticipate that this digital library will continue to expand over time. As we embark on this journey, our first collection comes from the personal archives of Deepak Shimkhada, a co-founder of the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture.
Deepak Shimkhada’s passion for photography began in his youth. In high school, his older brother gave him a box camera, sparking his interest in black-and-white photography. As his passion grew, he transitioned to a 35mm SLR camera in the 1970s, capturing vibrant color images. His collection spans decades, from the 1950s to 2013, and is categorized into two main groups:
1. Environmental Photography: Images of people, and landscapes.
2. Art and Cultural Objects: Photos of paintings, sculptures, architecture, and decorative arts such as pottery, terracotta, jewelry, textiles, rugs, and ritual objects.
Shimkhada studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Baroda, India, from 1962 to 1971, traveling extensively to document archaeological and historical sites. In 1979, he received a fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) to conduct field research for his Ph.D., which took him across India and Nepal. His travels led him to archaeological sites, museums, libraries, galleries, and private collections, capturing invaluable visual records.
While many images in this collection have been identified, some remain unknown. We invite students, scholars, and visitors to contribute by helping identify these images through comments. Your insights will enhance our archive. Thank you for exploring this collection!
