Monday 23 February 2009

Wellcome to the Library

At the SAALG 80th conference on Friday 20th February delegates were very privileged to see some fine examples of South Asian manuscripts from the Wellcome Library's collections. Presented by Dr. Nikolai Serikoff, the Asian Collection Librarian, these items demonstrate what a remarkable library the Wellcome is.
It's easy and free to join. Go to the E-registration page to kickstart your membership. You can reserve books from the comfort of your PC before making a visit in person. I have used the Library a few times and the staff are very helpful and friendly. I highly recommend it; the Wellcome Library blog offers a taste of the rich and varied nature of its holdings.

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Royal Asiatic Society

Forthcoming lectures relating to South Asia:

Odissi Indian Classical Dance (student series)
Dance and talk by Scheherazaad Cooper
March 18th 2009, 6.30 pm
Scheherazaad Cooper is an Odissi Indian classical dance practioner who has performed in Canada, the USA, India and the UK.

C. H. Philips and the East India Company (main series)
by Prof. Huw Bowen, Swansea University
April 16th 2009, 6.00pm

Tracing tea: Darjeeling to London in Pursuit of the Perfect Cuppa (student series)
by Max Lovell-Hoare
April 22nd 2009, 6.30pm
Max Lovell-Hoare's 10,000 mile journey used two modified Indian auto rickshaws and aimed to achieve two world records: the longest journey in a tuk tuk and the world's highest tea party on Pakistan's Khunjerap Pass.

All events are at the RAS, 14 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD. For further details see www.royalasiaticsociety.org.

Sunday 1 February 2009

Kolkata Book Fair


Kevin Halliwell and I are visiting the Kolkata Book Fair (where Scotland has the honour to be the theme country - Scotland pavilion pictured), and rather than duplicate posts, you can read all about it in this blog; the posts also refer to 2 other very good blogs from the British Council and the Sunday Herald. Happy reading!