The Indian Subcontinent has had trade relations with the world for thousands of years. One plausible theory even goes back to the Old Testament of The Bible, where Nala Sopara (then the port of Sopara) might be mentioned as Ophir, a port that had trade relations with King Solomon, and supplied luxurious goods such as ivory, gold, peacocks and even monkeys.

View of a remarkable banian tree near Tanjore, Elisha Trapaud

Pavitra Rajaram, design director and curator of Nilaya Anthology wants you to fast forward, to the 16th Century, with Passing Worlds: Of Encounters, Empires and Exchange, an ongoing exhibition of 105 rare lithographs, engravings, maps, and botanical prints from the 16th to 20th Century that give us the world’s view of the Indian Subcontinent from that period.