THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Mumbai Research Centre
Afghan Church walk with Kirtida Unwalla and Sharon Irani
Saturday, 29th March 2025
The Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai is happy to announce the Afghan Church walk with Kirtida Unwalla and Sharon Irani.
Monument & Memorial: The Story of the Afghan Church
Discover the fascinating story of how this elegant church, with its striking Indo-Gothic architecture, became a symbol of resilience and unity during times of conflict. From its origins as a memorial to British soldiers who perished in the First Afghan War to its restoration as a beacon of cultural heritage, each corner of the Afghan Church whispers tales of courage, sacrifice, and the enduring legacy of Bombay's connection with Afghanistan and the North West Frontier.
SATURDAY, 29th March 2025 at 3 pm
AFGHAN CHURCH
₹750 (₹500 FOR MEMBERS)
Registration Links:
General: https://rzp.io/rzp/AfghanGENERAL
Member: https://rzp.io/rzp/AfghanMEMBERS
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary
- Dr. Shehernaz Nalwalla, Vice President of the Society Asiatic Society of Mumbai & Chairperson – MRC
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Mumbai Research Centre
12th Edition of the Bombay Booked programme
Discussion on the book Shantaram Chalichi Smranagatha by Amey Joshi,
Monday, 17th March 2025 at 5.00 p.m. in the Durbar Hall
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai's Mumbai Research Centre cordially invites you to the 12th edition of the Bombay Booked programme. Bombay Booked is a programme that discusses books based on and about Mumbai. This session will discuss the book Shantaram Chalichi Smranagatha by Amey Joshi, which explores the significant role of Mumbai in India's freedom struggle. The discussion will be moderated by R.J. Ganesh Achawal.
This book provides in-depth information on the effective meetings held at Shantaram Chawl during the freedom movement. Shantaram Chawl has witnessed meetings on Ganesh Utsav, Shiv Jayanti, protests against Lord Wellington, Non-Cooperation Movement, Rowlatt Act and other issues. Shantaram Chawl has been sanctified by the touch of the feet of more than 40 freedom fighters.
Amey Joshi has done extensive research for this work, collecting evidence from prestigious institutions like Asiatic Society, Mani Bhavan, Sardar Grih and Kesari Wada. The collected material has been thoughtfully translated by Dr. Aparna Bedekar, Vivek Chhatre, Padmaja Bapaye and Anagha Bedekar. Moreover, the content, structure and overall presentation of the book have been done by Amey Joshi, Anagha Bedekar and Dr. Aparna Bedekar.
Date: Monday, 17 March 2025
Time: 5:00 PM (Refreshments from 4:30 PM onwards)
Venue: Darbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai
Town Hall, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400023
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द एशियाटिक सोसायटी ऑफ मुंबई चे मुंबई संशोधन केंद्र आपल्याला बॉम्बे बुक्ड प्रोग्रामच्या १२ व्या आवृत्तीसाठी सस्नेह आमंत्रित करत आहे. बॉम्बे बुक्ड या कार्यक्रमात मुंबईवर आधारित आणि त्याबद्दलच्या पुस्तकांवर चर्चा केली जाते. या सत्रात अमेय जोशी लिखित शांताराम चाळीची स्मरणगाथा या पुस्तकावर चर्चा होईल, जे भारताच्या स्वातंत्र्यलढ्यात मुंबईच्या महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिकेचा शोध घेते. या चर्चेचे सूत्रसंचालन आर.जे. गणेश आचवल करतील. स्वातंत्र्य चळवळीदरम्यान शांतारामच्या चाळीत झालेल्या प्रभावी सभांवर हे पुस्तक सखोलपणे माहिती देते. गणेश उत्सव, शिवजयंती, लॉर्ड वेलिंग्डन विरोधातील निषेध, असहकार चळवळ, रौलेट कायदा आणि इतर विषयांवरील सभांची शांताराम चाळ साक्षीदार आहे. शांताराम चाळ 40 पेक्षा जास्त स्वातंत्र्य सेनानींच्या पदस्पर्शाने पावन झाली आहे. अमेय जोशी यांनी या कामासाठी व्यापक संशोधन केले आहे, एशियाटिक सोसायटी, मणिभवन, सरदार गृह आणि केसरी वाडा सारख्या प्रतिष्ठित संस्थांकडून पुरावे गोळा केले आहेत. संग्रहित साहित्याचे भाषांतर डॉ. अपर्णा बेडेकर, विवेक छत्रे, पद्मजा बापाये आणि अनघा बेडेकर यांनी विचारपूर्वक केले. शिवाय, पुस्तकाचा आशय, रचना आणि एकूण सादरीकरण अमेय जोशी, अनघा बेडेकर आणि डॉ. अपर्णा बेडेकर यांनी केले आहे.
तारीख: सोमवार, १७ मार्च २०२५
वेळ: संध्याकाळी ५:०० (सायंकाळी ४:३० वाजेपासून अल्पोपहार)
स्थळ: दरबार हॉल, द एशियाटिक सोसायटी ऑफ मुंबई
टाऊन हॉल, शहीद भगतसिंग रोड, फोर्ट, मुंबई, महाराष्ट्र ४०००२३
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Dr. Shehernaz Nalwalla, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson – MRC
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai
introduces Aditya Chatterjee
who will deliver excerpts from his new book “The Evolution of Our Gods”
Tuesday 18th March 2025 at 5.00 p.m.
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai is delighted to introduce Aditya Chatterjee, who will deliver excerpts from his new book “The Evolution of Our Gods” on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 5.00 p.m. at the Society’s Durbar Hall. The event will start by unveiling the book to members of the Society and other visitors.
Mr Chatterjee’s presentation, through images of extant idols of deities, will focus on how different Brahminical Hindu religious ideas emerged centuries ago and continued to evolve till these reached their current state. Mr Chatterjee will also share how the basic understanding, religious beliefs, and iconography regarding Brahminical Hindu Gods and Goddesses have been influenced by philosophies that are both indigenous and of foreign origin.
In the prologue of The Evolution of Our Gods, the author recounts how the shared history of this subcontinent has always fascinated him. He is overwhelmed and riveted by how this land has witnessed myriad cross-currents of cultural influence over many millennia, and how these continuous flows of influence have repeatedly moulded, re-shaped and even completely altered belief systems.
Aditya Chatterjee is a communications specialist with a cumulative work experience of over 30 years. He started his career as a business journalist, working for important media houses such as The Financial Express, Business Standard, and The Times of India. He currently serves as Vice-President – Content at Adfactors PR, the country’s largest PR consultancy. He is a former senior journalist with The Times of India.
There will be a Q & A session at the end.
Tea will be served at 4.30 p.m.
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Meenal Kshirsagar, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson - ASM LitClub
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Mumbai Research Centre
Presents Bombay Booked - 11: MUSES OVER MUMBAI
Murzban F. Shroff will be in conversation with Sidharth Bhatia
Friday, 7th March 2025 at 5.00 p.m.
The Mumbai Research Centre of The Asiatic Society of Mumbai presents Bombay Booked - 11: MUSES OVER MUMBAI, a new story collection from Commonwealth Prize-shortlisted author and seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Murzban F. Shroff. He will be in conversation with Sidharth Bhatia, Founder Editor of The Wire.
Friday, 7th March 2025 from 5 p.m. at the Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai. Please join us for Tea at 4:30 p.m.
Muses Over Mumbai is a collection of 17 stories addressing issues such as the veg-non-veg divide, terrorism, caste and communal prejudice, class snobbery, corporate greed, and environmental destruction. Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie praises these stories for highlighting Mumbai's spirit against its darker aspects.
Murzban F. Shroff, a Mumbai-based writer, has published fiction in over 75 literary journals in the U.S. and UK. He has received multiple awards and nominations, including the Bacopa Review Fiction Award and seven Pushcart Prize nominations. His works include "Breathless in Bombay" and "Waiting for Jonathan Koshy." Shroff's India collection of stories, "Third Eye Rising," was listed among Esquire's Best Books of 2021. He is a frequent speaker at international literary festivals and universities.
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Dr. Shehernaz Nalwalla, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson – MRC
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai
Book Launch and Discussion Programme
presents the book “The Other Mohan in Britain’s Indian Ocean Empire”
by author Amrita Shah
Wednesday, 5th March 2025 at 5.00 p.m.
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai takes pleasure in inviting you to the presentation of the book “The Other Mohan in Britain’s Indian Ocean Empire” by the author Amrita Shah on Wednesday, 5th March 2025 at 5.00 p.m. in the Durbar Hall of the Society.
Part travelogue, part memoir, part family history and imbued with rigorous scholarship, “The Other Mohan in Britain’s Indian Ocean Empire,” published by Harper Collins, is an original path breaking work, where Amrita Shah takes the reader into an era of unprecedented global mobility. Traders and professionals who followed indentured workers to Mauritius and South Africa were called ‘passenger’ Indians. A celebrated Indian passenger, Mohandas Gandhi went to Natal in 1893. A decade later, an undistinguished Indian passenger, the author’s great grandfather Mohanlal Killavala arrived in Natal. As a child growing up in India, the author was fascinated by the mystery surrounding her ancestor’s journey. Why had he gone there? What was the name of the woman he met along the way, who gave birth to her grandmother? And did he know Gandhi? There were no clues at home, no reminiscences, no letters, documents, memorabilia, not even a photograph. She embarked on a search for her wandering forefather with limited expectations but doors opened serendipitously and a paper trail emerged, strewn in archives across South Africa, Mauritius, the UK and India, providing answers but also revealing the immense value of researching a small man’s history.
Amrita Shah is a writer, journalist and independent scholar, she has been a member of our Society over many years. Her wonderfully engaging book sets on record for the first time a sweeping social and business history of the Indian diaspora in the Indian Ocean. The author relates an intensely personal story intertwined with the history of the British Empire.
Please join us for this talk which promises to be both scholarly and fascinating.
Tea will be served at 4.30 pm
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Meenal Kshirsagar, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson - ASM LitClub
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF MUMBAI
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai
Book Launch and Discussion Programme
Marathi Book - पेरिप्लस ऑफ हिंदुस्थान (हिंदुस्थानची प्रदक्षिणा)
Tuesday 25th February 2025 at 4.30 p.m.
The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai takes pleasure in inviting you to a book launch and discussion programme on a book in Marathi ‘पेरिप्लस ऑफ हिन्दुस्थान (हिन्दुस्थानची प्रदक्षिणा)’ by Sunanda Bhosekar, a Life Member of our Society on Tuesday 25th February 2025 at 4.30 p.m. in the Durbar Hall of the Society.
– The book, “The Periplus. of Hindustan,” is an expansive review of the perception of India by some foreign travellers like Megasthenes, Ibn Batuta, Alberuni, Ralph Fitch, Thomas Roe, to name just a few. A well-researched book and one of its kind, it gives a vivid picture of the history, geography, civilization, culture, customs and traditions in India for almost 2000 years from the period from B.C. 302 to C.E. 1681.
The book is an outcome of a column written by Sunanda Bhosekar in the Marathi daily Praha in the year 2011. Further research was undertaken by the author from 2018-2019, this has been a continuous process of in -depth study since then.
Sunanda Bhosekar has done her Master’s Degree in Political Science and History from the University of Mumbai. She has a keen interest in travel, archaeology, history, various cultures and political thought. Sunanda pursued her career in the field of Finance at the Reserve Bank of India from 1980 to 2018. A poet by heart, she has to her credit three poetry collections – 'अनोळखी प्रदेशात,' 'रे गोपाळा' and 'गळ्यावरचा निळा डाग.' She has contributed many articles and columns in various Marathi newspapers and periodicals. Her career as a writer has been growing continuously while she was in the RBI but now it has taken centre stage since she is aspiring to become both an intellectual writer and a sensitive poet.
The programme will be presided over by Shri Kumar Ketkar, writer, senior journalist and a member of the Rajya Sabha till recently.
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande , Hon. Secretary Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Meenal Kshirsagar, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson - ASM LitClub
