The Chinese influence on Indian art: Deccani paintings
Little is known about the Chinese influence on Indian art. But the two civilisations have a long history of capturing each other's imaginations.
Trop picks: a Southeast Asian bouquet
A special relationship: The Coppolas and Tokyo
What explains the special relationship between Sofia Coppola and Tokyo? Papa Francis was a Japanophile and young Sofia would go along on his trips to Japan.
The Chinese influence on Indian modern art: M. F. Husain and Xu Beihong
M.F. Husain's horse paintings owe an artistic debt to Xu Beihong's paintings of the same, reiterating the Chinese influence on Indian modern art.
Stop. Breathe. And get over yourself.
The conceptual art of Mono-Ha was a Japanese attempt to sabotage the inexorable rise of a Western vision of modernity.
A bit of Singapore in Sidhpur?
Noting a remarkable similarity between the homes of the Dawoodi Bohras of Sidhpur and the Peranakan Chinese.
The cross-legged minx of the Yuefenpai
The sexual allure of the Yuefenpai ladies reflected the allure of the modern city and all its consumer delights.
Dine like a mogul
Forget Donald Trump. Here’s your complete checklist on how to dine like a Grand Mogul.
A shooting star: Amrita Sher-Gil
On a cold winter’s day in Budapest, in 1913, the Indo-Hungarian artist Amrita Sher-Gil made the first of the many dramatic entrances of her life.
Trop picks: Tulips
The original Tulipmania.
The modernization of Japanese fashion
The Japanese trio of Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake wrote the book on how to modernize non-Western traditions in the nineteen eighties.
Making the case for Indian fashion
Arti Sandhu, author of "Indian Fashion," gives an insider’s account of the Indian fashion scene.
The dog days of summer
It's hot, hot, hot, and all we really want to be doing right now is lazing around, perhaps enjoying a good gossip and a cold drink.
Trop picks: Elaeocarpus
Follow the germination of an idea.
The first beauty pageant
In 1907, the Japanese newspaper Jiji Shimpō held Asia's first beauty pageant heralding the entry of women into the public sphere.
Vlisco: A bit of Java in Africa
It is a little known fact that these "African" cloths are not from Africa at all, but have their origins in Indonesia and are manufactured in Holland by a Dutch company called Vlisco for export to Africa.
Trop picks: Flowers of the universe
We look at designs from traditional culture as part of a series on symbols of love that are not the ubiquitous heart.
Fearless: Ken Tsai-Lee
If I had to use one word to describe Ken Tsai-Lee, "fearless" would be it.
Looking for Home
Viet Kiêu artist Phi Phi Oanh searches for her identity in lacquer.
Arikamedu: A bit of ancient Rome in India
In Arikamedu, near Pondicherry in South India (of Life of Pi fame), one can find the ruins of a Roman trading settlement dating from the first century C. E.