Research Abroad

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

2012-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm working again this week with some of the material I gathered at the Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus in Vanves, France. The revisions I'm trying to complete rely fairly heavily on the Fonds Brotier. Right now I'm translating a bunch of astronomical observations recorded near Calcutta by Father Claude Boudier between 1731 and 1735 CE. This volume also contains copies of observations made by others that Father Boudier must have kept near for purposes of comparison and study. I'll add a brief index here, if you'll agree to forgive me the typographical errors and misplaced accents.

Volume 78 GBro 078

Observations des distances du soleil au Zenith faites à Chandernagor par le Père Boudier, 1731-1732 ; f. 1rv
Les Observations Suivantes ont ete faites avec un Gnomon de 36062 partiers ou 15 pieds 7 pouces 9 signes 13 partiers (Mai 1731-Sept 1731) ; ff. 1v-4r
Observations faites à Pequin par le R. P. Gaubil Jesuites 1723 ; f. 4v-5r
Observations faites à Chandernagor 1731-1732 ; ff. 5v-7r
[1731-32] Temps du passage du l’image du soleil par le méridien observe à Chandernagor; ff. 7r-8r
Observations des Taches du Soleil Juillet 1731 ; ff. 8v
Observations de l’eclipse de lune du 8 Juin 1732, faite à Chandernagor ; f. 9r
Observations de l’eclipse de lune du 2 Décembre 1732 faite a Chandernagor ; f. 9r-10r
Observations de 1^er satellite de Jupiter faites a Chandernagor en 1732 ; f 10r-10v
Observations des distances du soleil au zenith faites a Chandernagor in 1732 ; f10v-11v
Des observations du 16, 17, 18 et 23 Fevrier on a conclu l’entree du Soleil dans le Signe der poissona ; f. 12r
Observations du passage de Sirius par le Meridien en Mars 1732 ; f. 12r-13r
De la grandeur de l’annee solaire ; 13v-14v
De la grandeur de l’annee solaire dans se palais du Marqui de Maluasi à la fin 1655 ; 14v
Equinox de Riccoli rapportez dans son astronomie reformee Comparees avec ceux l’Hipparque ; 15r
Equinox de M. Cassini comparees avec ceux l’Hipparque ; 15v
Equinox observez à Chandernagore en fin 1732 et comparez avec ceux l'Hipparque ; 16v
Du lieu de l'apogee du Soleil ; 17r-19v
De l'excentricité du Soleil ; 19v-20r
Du diametre apparent du soleil ; 20v
[Still working on this section]
Observations de l’eclipse de soleil du 8-1-1731 ; 29r-30r
Observation d’une Eclipse du la Lune faite a Chandernagor le soire de 13 Décembre avec une lunette douze pieds ; ff. 30r-30v.
Les observations faites en 1733, 1734, et 1735 ne laissent aucun lieu de douter qu’il ne faille exclure la pénombre en mesurant l’image du soleil pour avoir son diamètre apparent. Voici le résultat de ces observations. ff 24v-26v ; 31r-32r.
Memes obsevations, autre exemplaire ; 26 p. ff. 35-45
Memes observations, redaction differnent ; 12 p. ff. 46-51
Eclipse de lune observee a Chandernagor la nuit du 28 au 29 mai 1733 par les PP. jesuites ; 4 p. ff 53-54
Equinoxes observes a Chandernagor en 1732 et compares a ceux d’Hipparque, 2 p. f. 54

Editing and Research Assistance for South Asianists

2011-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Re-posted from H-ASIA:

From: Maggie Ronkin

Dear H-Asia Colleagues and Friends,

I am a South Asianist, chiefly a Pakistanist, who is starting a client-centered communications consultancy in Washington, DC. Over more than two decades, I have acquired academic training and expertise to handle a range of assignments focusing on non-Western topics and requiring skills pertinent to the qualitative social sciences and humanities. I welcome your work involving research; editing and proofreading of papers, proposals, and publications; production and promotion of events, and special assignments. I can Skype and travel. I co-edited three volumes in applied sociolinguistics for a major U.S. university press and Mouton de Gruyter and co-organized two international conferences. More recently, I edited for Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard University authors in anthropology, literature, and women’sstudies; produced a proposal for a U.S.-South Asian educational partnership; launched a U.S.-South Asian videoconferencing initiative in development studies, and freelanced other assignments. On my 2011 visit to South Asia, I completed exploratory research on constructions of African-Pakistani identities and delivered a lecture series in applied sociolinguistics.

For an appointment to discuss your project, please email me at
ronkinm@hotmail.com.

Maggie Ronkin
Washington, D.C.

South Asian American Digital Archive

2011-06-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

The collections in the South Asia American Digital Archive (SAADA) represent members of the South Asian diaspora who have settled in the United States, including those who trace their heritage to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the many South Asian diaspora communities across the globe. The digital archives include the collections on Dalip Singh Saund, Early Immigration, Early Student Life, Hindustan Gadar Party, HipHopistan, India Alert, India Forum (California), Indian Emergency, Kerala Catholic Association, Lord of The Universe Society (LOTUS), Reflections on America, South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), and Sudhindra Bose.

Indian Memory Project

2011-04-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

"The Indian Memory Project is an attempt to trace the history of India, its people, professions, development, traditions, cultures, settlements and cities through pictures found in personal family albums and archives. It was founded in February 2010, by Anusha S Yadav."

This and That

2011-04-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that I successfully defended my dissertation, "The Spatialization of Knowledge and Power at the Astronomical Observatories of Sawai Jai Singh II, c. 1721-1743 CE," this semester and am moving onto new and hopefully better things. I have a stack of research notes and tips that I never got around to adding to this blog. I'm going to take a few weeks off to work on a non-academic project, after which I'll come back and do some work on this place.

Do you ever wonder if you're the only one who doesn't know how to find/access the Jesuit archives in Vanves? Good news: you're not alone. I get the most hits from searches related to those archives. In second place are searches for information about research visas and visa renewals. In third place are searches related to Persian manuscripts. The only people who ever e-mail directly with questions are people with questions about visas. I guess that tells us something about the frustration and anxiety surrounding research visas for India.

I'll be back at the end of May 2011.

Libraries in India

2011-04-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

WebJunction's list of libraries in India.

LOC Asian Reading Room

2011-01-26T08:58:00.001-08:00

From the website of the Library of Congress Asian Reading Room:

"The Asian Reading Room is the primary public access point for researchers seeking to use the Asian collections of the Library of Congress in the many languages of Asia. The reading room covers the area from the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. With over 2.8 million books, periodicals and newspapers, a large number of manuscripts, and electronic media, the collections are the most comprehensive sources of Asian language materials outside of Asia. Area Specialists and Reference Librarians provide in-depth reference assistance on questions concerning Asia."

http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/

South Asian Pamphlets, 1920-2005

2010-11-29T11:12:00.001-08:00

Inventory of the South Asian Pamphlets Collection, 1920-2005 at Duke University Libraries.

Digital Images: Tasveer Ghar

2010-10-11T17:55:00.001-07:00

News of Tasveer Ghar ("House of Pictures") finally hit my inbox. Historians of visual culture of India should take a look.

Archives of Indian Labour

2010-10-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

"The Archives of Indian Labour was set up in July, 1998 as a collaborative project of V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and the Association of Indian Labour Historians. The Archives of Indian Labour is dedicated to the cause of preserving and making accessible the fast depleting documents on the working class with the belief that,

"Archive is to society what memory is to human beings"

The Archives was instituted in order to address the urgent need for preservation of rapidly decaying documents and material on labour and to provide for greater public access to the same. It has long been felt that documents and data on Indian Labour now and in the past, are being irretrievably lost."

Available here: http://www.indialabourarchives.org/

Database: Making Britain

2010-09-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

A possible helpful web resource from The Open University for those working on South Asian/British nationalism.

"Making Britain: Discover how South Asians Shaped the Nation, 1870-1950"

Visa Renewal, Jaipur Style

2010-09-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

My friend and colleague, Julia, who is currently completing her dissertation research in Jaipur, has generously written up her visa renewal experience. She describes a process significantly different than what I went through in Delhi, but it backs up my earlier assertion: nothing would ever get done without the help of AIIS in general, and Kumarji in specific.

Julia's Advice:

My main advice for getting the visa renewed at your local FRO is to have all of the Indian administrators in your life on speed dial on your mobile phone, ready to talk with any bureaucrats you encounter. If we hadn't had the local AIIS office helping us, we would have been completely lost, and would have wasted an enormous amount of time to frittering, waiting in offices, and running back and forth gathering bits of paperwork. Having AIIS's assistance also helped avoid the awkward question of whether, and to whom, to offer some "additional under the table fees." I don't know if AIIS just has the system figured out, or if they're greasing the wheels somewhere, but those issues never came up.

First, about two months before our visas expired, we went to visit Kumar, the office administrator at the AIIS's offices in Jaipur, affiliated with their language program. Because AIIS deals with an enormous amount of volume in bureaucractic visa work in Jaipur, Kumar knows the ropes--he knows the peons who can get you the right guy to talk to and the FRO office people have his number. He told us that it was too early to apply, and that they wouldn't take our forms yet, saving us a trip to the FRO. Several weeks later, we arrived at the FRO in Jaipur, where they told us they couldn't renew my research visa. I told them they could, they told me they couldn't, and that I needed to go to Delhi. It was pretty clear that the main issue was a lack of experience with research visas, so I called the person in charge of junior scholars at the Fulbright offices in Delhi and handed the phone to the FRO guys. She convinced them that what we wanted was possible. Then I talked a bit about how I knew Kumar, and we had tea with the FRO guys, and after some last minute photocopying of forms we needed, they took our paperwork--and, disconcertingly, our passports. They were dreadfully vague about when we would see our passports again--"you know," they said, "the Indian government is so slow." I got the mobile number for one of the FRO guys and we went on our way.

At this point, our paperwork was sent to the Secretariat, the state government offices, for approval. Several days after dropping the forms (on Kumar's instructions), I called the guy at the FRO to confirm that the forms had been sent and to get our paperwork's "dispatch" number, so that we could find the forms at the Secretariat. About two weeks later, we went--WITH KUMAR--to the Secretariat, where he talked to the right guys to actually get our forms out of the paperwork piles and moving along; without this, he said, our paperwork never would have moved. Do NOT go to the Secretariat for the first time by yourself; it is really huge and overwhelming. Without Kumar we literally would not have been able to figure out how to get in the door. They told us to return a few days later for our completed forms and passports. We did. We actually SAW our passports move from desk to desk, getting signed and written on, but after a several hour wait, it turned out that "Sahib," whose signature was necessary, wasn't in, and we had to return the following day when, at last, we received our passports and other paperwork in a sealed brown envelope, which Kumar had instructed us not to open.

At this point, we brought the envelope across the city, back to the FRO, where they opened it, stamped up our visas and our "residence permits" and signed everything twice.

From dropping off our forms and passports to having our passports, with visas, in hand, took about 3 weeks, total. This included both an extension of my research visa and of my partner's dependent spousal entry visa. It's a little terrifying being without your passport for that amount of time; make color copies if you haven't already, and don't plan any travel for that period.

Empire, Nation, and Imaginary Institutions

2010-08-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

H-net review for:

Partha Chatterjee. Empire and Nation: Selected Essays. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.

Sudipta Kaviraj. The Imaginary Institution of India: Politics and Ideas. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.

(Review by Neera Chandhoke)

Archive and Access

2010-07-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a link about a new online directory of libraries and archives in India. According to the blurb that hit my e-mail:

"The Archive and Access project aims to set up a consortium of
libraries and archives with a online joint catalogue; to build an online
directory of significant archival collections in India; and to make
available full text selections contributed by historians. It also tries
to facilitate public discussions about archival practices and policies
and to develop ideas about ownership and use."

http://publicarchives.org/directory-of-archive-and-libraries.html

Robert Knight

2010-05-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

H-net review for:

Edwin Hirschmann. Robert Knight: Reforming Editor in Victorian India. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

(Review by Jeffrey Patterson)

Trade Routes

2010-01-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Trade Route Resources Blog

[A collection of online resources of use to dromography, or the comparative study of organisation, history, geography, and logistics of movement, transportation and communication networks. This site is a part of the Old World Trade Routes (OWTRAD) Project.]

Pilgrimage and the Tibetan Reinvention of India

2010-01-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

H-net book review for:

Toni Huber. The Holy Land Reborn: Pilgrimage and the Tibetan Reinvention of India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

(Review by Jessica Falcone).

Directorate of Archaeology, Archives and Museums Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

2009-08-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Archives division of the Madhya Pradesh Directorate for Archaeology, Archives and Museums can be found at Banaganga Marg (Banganga Road), at the base of Shyamla Hills, next to the Hindi Granth Academy.

If you are doing research on Holkar or Gwalior (Scindia) State, this is the place to start. The Archives hold material relating to the Central Provinces, Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Madhya Bharat, Maihar and Nagod States. I was looking into Gwalior State Records. Most of the material made available was English language, early 20th century, but here the official description of their holdings (including records in Nagpur, etc.):

The record available at the Central Provinces and Berar, Madhya Pradesh Central Record room, Nagpur is from 1799 to 1920. The post 1920 series is maintained in the General Administration Department, Mantralaya, Vallabh Bhawan, Bhopal.
The Holkar State Records - available in Bhopal and at Indore Repositories is from 1818 to 1950.
The Scindia State(Gwalior) records are from 1802 to 1948. They are located in Bhopal repository.
The records of Bhopal State are from 1914 to 1948. The series of pre 1914 records are with the National Archives of India, Bhopal Branch.
The Madhya Bharat State Records are from 1948 to 1956 and are available in Bhopal.
The Narsingarh State Records are available in Gwalior Repository and some of the records of Nagod and Maihar State is available in Rewa Repository.

The facilities are a little sketchy at the Bhopal repository, in that every time it rained, the reading room flooded. I spent a lot of time reading with my feet in the air. There did not seem to be any sort of catalogue available, but the Assistant Archivist, Mr. Meena, helped me sort through three cabinets of Gwalior material in search of relevant records. Although the official opening hours for Bhopal office start at 10 or 10:30, there's really no point in going before 11:00. Ask whomever you see to find Mr. Meena--his desk is in the corner office in the Holkar record room.

Photocopying is pretty pricey here, the most expensive I've encountered in India at 20Rs./page. Still, Mr. Meena helped me consolidate pages, so it worked out to about 10Rs.page. That's still higher than anywhere else in India.

Accommodations: I've been staying at Ivy Suites (they are working on a new website), which is at the very top of Shyamla Hills. It is about a 20 minute walk down the hill to the Directorate, and a 30 minute walk back up the hill. To avoid much of the hill, you could stay at Ranjit's Lakeview, but that would be a more anonymous hotel experience. Within one block of Ivy Suites are the luxury hotels Jehan Numa Palace Hotel and the Hotel Lakeview Ashok. These are both very nice, but I can't imagine any research budget stretching to include such luxury. You can find awesome french fries at the coffee shop at Jehan Numa, though.

Renewing your Research Visa.

2009-07-01T03:46:00.000-07:00

Good luck with that.

No, seriously, it can be done, but it is going to take more patience than you probably have after 12 months in India.

First, the good news for all you Fulbright people: the USIEF office will write you a letter that should help smooth things over with FRRO. Yes, FRRO. I'm afraid you have to go back there. You should take with you:

your own pen with black or blue ink
passport photos (take 4, just in case, but refer to my previous FRRO post for instructions on how to find a photo place near FFRO itself)
passport w/visa
photocopies of your passport and visa
FRRO registration book
photocopies of the first and last page of your FRRO registration book
Original letter from USIEF, recommending visa renewal
Photocopy of letter from USIEF
Letter from Indian university (JNU, DU, etc.) advisor recommending that your visa be renewed (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL)
Proof of residence (utility bill, C-Form, etc.)
Flight arrival information (I know, who cares, you've been in India 12 months, but they still want it)
4000 INR

You know the drill. Compile all the copies into a pile to leave at FRRO. Get up early, try to be the first person in line at FRRO. I got there at 8:45 this time, and was about 12th in line, an almost perfect position. I was done by 10:30, so it was worth the early start. The paperwork you will be handed is similar to registration paperwork, and if you have all the proper items listed above, you should be golden. Take the USIEF phone number with you, though, just in case someone gives you trouble.

Okay, now the bad news for all you independent researchers, or people on something like a SSRC-IDRF. It's going to take you an extra day or two to renew your visa. Plan for a total of three days: 1 day to get letters from the U.S. Embassy and your advisor on campus; 1 day to visit the Ministry of Home Affairs; and 1 day for the FRRO.

This is what you need to do. Get a letter from the U.S. Embassy reconfirming your status as a researcher. Get a letter from your Indian university advisor recommending your visa renewal and noting your good research progress. Photocopy them. Then get up early and go to the Ministry of Home Affairs (Jaipur House on Mansingh Road, New Delhi) and take the following items:

your own pen with black or blue ink
passport photos (I honestly can't remember if I needed them, but it can't hurt to have them)
Original letter from U.S. Embassy
Photostat of letter from U.S. Embassy
Original letter from university advisor
Photostat of letter from university advisor
Original letter from home (U.S.) institution praising your work
Photostat of letter from home institution
Passport with visa page
Photostat of passport with visa page
FRRO registration book
Photostat of FRRO registration book
Proof of residence (utility bill, C-Form, etc.)

Compile all the copies together, these are what you will attach to the forms given to at MHA. You also need the originals, though, because the interview (see below) will ask to see them. If you forget to make a photocopy, don't worry, there is a copy station at the bottom of the stairs, only 1 INR/page.

When you get out of the autorickshaw at Jaipur House, the reception desk is in the little building to your right. Go in there and show your passport. This room has AC, but don't think you have it made, because this is only the reception hall. They will give you a number and tell you to go to the visa room. Go out of reception and into the complex to the office building to the left (ask the guards where to go). Wander into the building, look for stairs. The visa room is on the first (upper) floor. The copy station is right at the bottom of these stairs.

Generally, this part is hot and chaotic, even though the visa people follow a clear procedure. You will be given some paperwork with a number. Fill it out, and bring it back to the same desk. Eventually, some officers will come out and sit at the long desk at the side of the room, and start calling out numbers. You'd think people would wait until they heard their number, but no, the moment one number is called, there is a stampede. For this reason, I recommend sitting in a chair in the side room so you will already be there when the stampede happens. You might be tempted to sit in the larger visa room, where there is a hint of AC, but I think you will regret it when the chaos starts.

What happens is this: your number is called, and you go sit at the long desk for an interview. I never said a word during my interview, so I'm not sure why they call it that. An officer looks over all your photocopies, asks to see the originals, writes some mysterious notes, then tells you to come back at 4:30. Here is the frustrating part. You will come back at 4:30 as directed, and be handed a sealed envelope. This envelope you take to FRRO the next morning, along with all the documents/money listed above. DON'T OPEN THE ENVELOPE. I know, it's hard, because in that sealed envelope it either says "give this person a visa extension" or it says "deny this person's visa extension," and it would be lovely to know which it is before you stand in line at FRRO. But if the seal is broken, you will be denied your visa extension for certain.

In my case, I was recommended for a visa extension, and the less than two hours I then spent at the FRRO a miracle. I hope this description of the process bears equally good results for you.

Bikaner Accommodations.

2009-06-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, Bikaner in the summer is a tough place to be. 115-120 degree F during the months of May and June, and it doesn't matter where you're living, because it is going to be hell. That being said, I can recommend looking into the Hotel Shri Ram. Yogendra Singh and Samar Rathore were great hosts, and looked after me very well during the hot season. It's only 1/2 block to a nice, quiet park for evening walks, 1 block to a cyber cafe (for recharging your phone and buying cold drinks) and about 4 blocks to the city's only ice cream parlor. If you are going to be traveling regularly to the Rajasthan State Archives, Yogendra Singh can arrive daily transport with a local autorickshawallah. I paid 20Rs. one way no matter where I went in the city.

There are at least two luxury hotels in town (Laxmi Niwas Palace and Lallgarh Palace), but they are a little removed from the city and a bit hard on the budget. Yogendra Singh can take you on a tour of Laxmi Niwas Palace, or maybe for a meal in the open air restaurant.

अठसठी इमारती (Athsathi Imarat)

2009-04-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

The Athsathi Imarat (3-1/2 year Building Accounts) consist of account summaries for materials, wages, religious/charitable donations, and tehshil collections/expenditures for a specified period. Here is an example page, translation is below.

Translation:

Vikram Samvat 1785

Expeditures: Materials/Wages

Observatory (जंत्र)
2802-11-0 [Rupees-Annas-Paise]

Materials (मसाला) used in Observatory]
1401-15-0

Stone
341-4-0

Lime
348-1-2

Unslaked Lime
587-3-2

Gravel/Stone
18-10-0

[list of materials continued on verso]

(Material at right of page: dedication to Rama, note that this folio belongs to Athsathi records for the city of Sawai Jaipur)

Imarat Khana (Building Dept.) Records at RSA

2009-04-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

There are several sets of Imarat Khana records available at the RSA, including daily income/expenditure reports, monthly and annual summaries, and court-related accounts. This is a listing of the Imarat Khana records from Catalogue No. 23, Jaipur State. I have also appended a few entries from the Pothi Khana and Rang Khana records from the same catalogue.

जमा खर्च (Jamaa Karch) Income/Expenditure

Bundle No. 1 (reviewed 05/15/09)
VS 1775-1776
VS 1777-1778
VS 1778
VS 1784
VS 1787

Bundle No. 2 (reviewed 5/18/09)
VS 1788 Shri Vrindavan (Kanak Vrindavan Valley, bottom of Nahargarh hils, on Amber-Jaipur Road)
VS 1787 Mathuraji
VS 1788-1792 Pahar Ganj (near Galta Gate, old city, http://wikimapia.org/5248812/Paharganj)
VS 1786-89 Thakur Duar(?)
VS 1789 Kasba Basva (?)
VS 1789 Vrindavan

Bundle No. 3 (reviewed 5/18/09)
VS 1789-1793 Thakur Kola
VS 1789-1797 Hadha(?) ka Bagh
VS 1790-1794 Ath Kudh Mathura
VS 1791 Mathuraji
VS 1792 Imarati
VS 1792 Kasba Basva
VS 1794 Imarati
VS 1794, 1796 Ghat Kagar Mathura
VS 1797, 1798 Bagh Lalava
VS 1800, 1802, 1807, 1811-1813 Imarati

स्याह इमारती (Syaha Imarati) Building Accounts

Bundle No. 9 (reviewed 04/24/09)
1787, 1788, 1792-1794 Sawai Jaipur
1790, 1791 Pahar Ganj

Bundle No. 10 (reviewed 04/24/09)
1796-1798, 1808 Sawai Jaipur

याद दासती इमारती (Yaad Dasti Imarati) Building Memoranda

Bundle No. 12 (reviewed 05/28/09, 06/22/09)
1792-1795
तोज़ी स्याह हजुर (Tozi Syaha Hazur) Court Accounts
(स्याहा हज़ुर and बकाया हज़ुर)

Bundle No. 20 VS 1780
Bundle No. 21 VS 1781
Bundle No. 22 VS 1781-1784
Bundle No. 23 VS 1783 (reviewed 06/22/09)
Bundle No. 24 VS 1786-1787 (reviewed 06/23/09)
Bundle No. 25 VS 1788
Bundle No. 26 VS 1789-1790
Bundle No. 27, 28 VS 1790
Bundle No. 29 VS 1791-1792
Bundle No. 30 VS 1792
Bundle No. 31, 32 VS 1793
Bundle No. 33 VS 1794
Bundle No. 34, 35 VS 1795
Bundle No. 36 VS 1795-1796
Bundle No. 37 VS 1796
Bundle No. 38 VS 1797 (reviewed 5/22/09)
Bundle No. 39 VS 1799
Bundle No. 41 VS 1800
Bundle No. 41a VS 1801

रोज़नामा ईमारती (Roznaama Imarati) Daily Building Accounts

Bundle No. 1
VS 1748, 1780-1781, 1784, 1787, 1788, 1789 (reviewed 05/15/09)

Bundle No. 2
VS 1790, 1791 (reviewed 05/19/09)

Bundle No. 3
VS 1791, 1792, 1793 (reviewed 05/19/09)

Bundle No. 4
VS 1793, 1796, 1797, 1798 (reviewed 05/08/09)

जमा-खर्च पोथी खाना (Jamaa-Karch Pothikhana) Income/Expenditure Book Department
[all of these have been re-catalogued as Roznama, so I’m not sure why this section of bundle numbers is still in the catalogue. I’m listing them, but use the रोज़नामा पोथीखाना (Roznaama Pothikana) bundle numbers below to request them]

Bundle No. 3
VS 1782-1783, 1784

Bundle No. 4
VS 1784-1785, VS 1786-1787

Bundle No. 5
VS 1779-1782, 1787-1789, 1789-1790

Bundle Nos. 6/1, 6/2
VS 1790-1793, 1794-1797, 1798-1800

Bundle No. 7
VS 1802-1803, 1800-1805

अठसठी इमारती (Athsathi Imarat) 3-1/2 Year Summary of Building Accounts

Bundle No. 1
VS 1785

Bundle No. 2
VS 1786

Bundle No. 3
VS 1787

Bundle No. 4
VS 1788

रोज़नामा पोथीखाना (Roznaama Pothikhana) Daily Accounts Book Department

Bundle No. 1 VS 1764-1794 (reviewed 06/29/09)

Bundle No. 2 VS 1795-1802 (reviewed 06/23/09)

Bundle No. 3 VS 1803-1830

रंग खाना (Rang Khana) Paint/Dye Department

Bundle No. 1 VS 1755-1793 (reviewed 05/22/09)

Bundle No. 2 VS 1794-1799, 1801

Bundle No. 3 VS 1803-1809

Karkhana Records at RSA

2009-04-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Many Jaipur State records at the Rajasthan State Archives are catalogued only minimally. There exists a series of handwritten, hardbound catalogues, listing out the holdings. Catalogue No. 23 deals with the Jaipur State karkhana holdings. Here, I have listed out the various khana records available at RSA.

Catalogue No. 23 जयपुर स्टेट कारखाना (जमा-खर्च) Jaipur State Karkhanas (Income/Expenditure)

Khanas Catalogued:
अवद खाना (Awad Khana)

इमारत खाना (Imarat Khana) Building Department

रंग खाना (Rang Khana) Paint, Dyes, Colors

औखद खाना (Aukhad Khana)

किरकरा खाना (Kirkiri Khana) Jewelry Department

कोष ग्रह (Kosh Graha) Treasury

खुशबू खाना (Kushbū Khana) Scents Department

खयाल खाना (Khyaal Khana) Chess, Chaupar, etc.

गुणीजन खाना (Gunijan Khana) beg. 1816, Musicians

गऊ खाना (Gu/Gaya Khana) Cows

चिज ग्रह (Chiza Khana)

छापा खाना (Chaapa Khana) Printing

जरगर खाना (Jaragar Khana) Gold and silver articles

जीन खाना (Jīn Khana) Saddles, Bridles

तोप खाना (Topa Khana)

तंबल खाना (Tambul Khana) Betel leaves and vessels

तोषा खाना (Tosha Khana) Presents, valuable cloth, shawls, embroidery

चित्र ग्रह (Chitra Graha)

पखाल खाना (Pakhal Khana)

पालकी खाना (Palki Khana) Sedan chairs (later becomes Buggy Khana)

पोथी खाना (Pothikhana) Books, Manuscripts

पात्र खाना (Patra Khana)

फ़रास खाना (Farash Khana) Carpets, Tents

फ़ील खाना (Fīl Khana) Elephants

मसाल खाना (Mashal Khana) Torches

मेवा खाना (Meva Khana)

रसोई खाना (Rusoi Khana) Kitchen

रत्न खाना (Ratn Khana) Jewels

वस्त्र ग्रह (Vastra Graha)

सीलेह खाना (Sileh Khana) Armor

सोधा खाना (Sodha Khana)

शिलकार खाना (Shikar Khana) Hunting animals

सूरत खाना (Surati Khana) Paintings

सूत्र खाना (Sutra Khana) Camels

दाग धोड़ा (Dag Dhodha)

Rajasthan State Archives

2009-04-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

I wish I could go back here, really. Yes, it is miserably hot in Bikaner in the summer, but the material held here is just amazing, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the other researchers gave me candy.

You won't find the address for this place on the internet, so let me just tell you it is on Government Press Road, or "at the Old Government Press." The facilities are a bit harsh during the summer--the reading room is small, with only one window for light. This is important on those days when you have mandatory 3-hour power cuts. There is no air, and no light, and it generally feels like you've landed in hell. As long as there is power, there is a fan, and then you can work. When the power goes...have an alternate plan, like going home (where there will also be no power, so you might as well stay). They installed a window AC unit while I was there, and it helped when the power was on, but only so much.

Okay, so the reading room is a bit hard sometimes, but the material makes up for it, right? I never really figured out the catalogue system for this place. My general approach was this: I knew that I wanted to look at records from the Imarat Khana (Building Department) between 1721-1743. After a few miscommunications, eventually I was given a handwritten catalogue, divided into section by khana. Under each khana heading was a list of years for which records were available. For instance, under Imarat Khana records, I could request Income-Expense records for 1721, bundles 1, 2 and 3. That's as precise as it got. The bundles for the year would arrive, and I would go through them page by page to see what was there.

This same approach was taken with Rang Khana (Paint/Dye Department) records, Pothi Khana (Book Department) records, and with the rest of the Khana records. It would have saved so much time if there had been even a small description of each bundle, but there wasn't so I had to look at every page.

To request material, ask for a request slip (mang patra) at the front desk. Or, watch the other researchers--they just grab them from the desk drawer when they needed them, so I started doing that, too. You can fill out the slip in Hindi or English, or a combination of the two (my preference). No one here had any problem with me looking at whatever I wanted to look at. They brought me what I wanted, unless it was missing. The records aren't in a great state, a lot of dirt and worm damage, so when they said something was missing, it was easy to believe.

The photocopy policy was both liberal and restrictive. I was allowed to copy anything that had the word "observatory" on it, no questions asked, for 6Rs./page. They kept a running tab, and I just paid it off at the end of every month. So, that was great. However, there were a lot of building records not specifically related to the observatories that I would have loved to have copies of, and I ended up trying to frantically transcribe them. Difficult work, since it was in 18th c. Rajasthani. I had to write it all by hand, and I can tell you, I made a lot of transcription mistakes just because I couldn't read the record properly in the moment.

Oh, for access to the RSA, you need to have your paperwork in order. That is, you need:

Letter of introduction from USEIF if you are a Fulbrighter
Letter of introduction from U.S. Embassy if you are not a Fulbrighter
Letter of introduction from home (U.S.) institution
Passport with visa
Copy of passport with visa

You will be interviewed by the In-Charge and the Director. I just nodded a lot and smiled, and that seemed to work. It was at the RSA that I adopted my "absolute silence" approach to archival access. Even if someone says, No, you cannot work here, stay silent. Eventually, they will talk themselves into letting you do the work.

Facilities: the bathroom situation is horrid, so don't ask me about it. Don't plan to use them if you are female. Bring your own bottle of water if you don't trust the well water provided in the reading room. There is a chai stand just outside the complex gate to the left, but the chaiwallah also visits 2x a day if you want to put in an order. To the right outside the gate is the road to Junagarh Fort. It has some little shops, places to buy cold water, and several photostat shops, convenient for copying out your transcription notes. Keep walking along this road and into Junagarh Fort, and you can have lunch at Prachina, the Princess of Bikaner's snack shop. Across the road from the fort is Gallop's, an expensive coffee shop. They have good Bikaneri chicken if you feel like a splurge.

Delhi Accommodations

2009-03-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

While working at NAI in Delhi, I stayed at Vandana's Bed and Breakfast (I had the Parkview room, nice for birdwatching). This was in a great location (Safdarjung Enclave), about a 50Rs. autorickshaw ride from the archives. The house was really comfortable, and Pradeep and Vandana and family were excellent hosts. It is just a short walk through Arjun Nagar to Deer Park, Hauz Khas Village, or Green Park, and about a 40-50Rs. autorickshaw ride to Defence Colony. Since it is in South Delhi, it is also convenient to the airport. I was so comfortable here that I went back instead of finding a new place when I had to return to Delhi to renew my research visa.

JNU Affiliation

2009-02-02T03:26:00.000-08:00

To receive a research visa for India, you will need to provide either your bonafides as an independent scholar, or evidence of your affiliation with a local research institute. Working out affiliation details can be difficult. I started by making numerous web searches to identify faculty working my area in Jaipur and Delhi. After locating faculty with research interests similar to mine, I read all the publications by said faculty that I could find. This was instructive, and led me directly to a department and 1-2 faculty members at JNU that I would have liked to work with had they been in the U.S. At this point, I sat down and sent a dozen e-mails and made a dozen phone calls, trying to track these faculty members down to talk about research affiliation. It was a long and stressful process, made all the more so by my poor Hindi. I had several e-mail conversations, sent copies of my research proposal, my CV, talk to admissions on the phone, all of this. However, I think it helped me in the end, if only because I could put in my Fulbright application that I had made appropriate contact with faculty at a research university in India.*

Of course after this, a lot of the affiliation details are then handled by USIEF if you are a Fulbright-Hays DDRA student. Still, once you arrive in India, you will need to take care of paying your affiliation fees and registering as a day student/research affiliate yourself. This post will go over the steps for a JNU affiliation. I'm assuming you've made contact with your faculty advisor, and you just need to go through the formal registration process.

I will be referring to this map of JNU campus.

To arrive on the JNU campus, there is only one open gate, the Main, or North, Gate, off Bara Gangnath Marg (Road). Go through the gate, past the Dakshimpuram dormitories on the left, and take the first major left. Take another left, and this brings you onto a sort of ring road. You are headed to the Admin Building (also labeled "West Wing"), or Bldg. No. 2 on the JNU map. The entrance is on the west end of the building.

In the Admin Building, go to Room 20 (to the right). Ask for Satendrji. You will sit down at a table and go over the registration process with him. For this, you will need the following:

Your Letter of Admission from JNU
Your passport and research visa
A statement of medical clearance (I didn't have this, but I was fine without it)
A photocopy of passport and research visa
Four (4) passport photos
$100 USD (roughly INR5000) per semester of affiliation

Satendrji will give you a form to fill out in quadruplicate. He will then send you over to Room 13 to pay your affiliation fee. The cashier booth is just to the left of the door of Room 13. The Cashier will give you a receipt. Hold on to it. Sit and fill out the four forms in quadruplicate, and take them back to Satendrji. If he approves, he will cross out certain superfluous items on the forms, and stamp/sign them. Then he will send you to get a signature from the Dean of Students Office, as well as the signature of the Administrative Officer in your affiliating department. While you are out getting these two signatures, you will also need to make a photocopy of your cashier receipt.

Here's my advice. Go to the Dean of Students office (Bld. No. 13 on map) first. You want to turn left out of the Admin Building. The walkway leads past a science building and something that appears to be a greenhouse/nursery area. The Dean of Students office is behind the Molecular Sciences building. Make sure you do this before 1:15, otherwise everyone will be out to lunch. In theory, the guard at the door will be able to get your papers stamped. If this doesn't happen, you can do what I did: during the middle of the lunch hour, walk right into the Dean of Students office, say you think you need his signature, and see what happens. It worked for me, but I'm pretty sure I broke a number of rules doing it this way.

Most of the academic buildings (Social Sciences I & II, School of Arts and Aesthetics, etc.) are lined up behind the Admin Building (see Bldg. Nos. 40, 45, etc. on the map). They are much easier to find than the Dean of Students office. Your advisor probably arranged an appointment with you, so you can get your signature then. Otherwise, you can go to your discipline's building and try to find the approved Administrative Officer and request a signature.

As you are walking around, you will probably see dhabas and bookstores. There is a good range to the east of the library of this sort of thing. There are also two photocopy shops here. Photocopies as of right now are 1/2 INR per copy, so you'll probably have to buy two copies of your cashier's receipt, because who has 1/2 rupee change?

Once you have the signatures, leave the appropriate copy of the form with your department. Drop the Admissions Branch form and the receipt photocopy back in Admin Building Room 13 with Satendrji. Go back to the Dean of Students and drop one of the forms in the small box inside the entrance (to the right) labeled "Day Students". The yellow form is yours to keep.

That's as much detail as I can remember. JNU is a beautiful campus, so you might want to plan to spend the day there, watching birds and reading in the jungle. It's unlikely you will be able to catch an autorickshaw near the Admin Building. You can either take the bus back to the main gate, or you can walk, which takes about ten minutes, max.

*I am affiliated with JNU. Other options in Delhi include Delhi University, Maulana Azad Medical College, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and Jamia Millia Islamia, among others.

Archaeological Survey of India

2009-01-13T09:01:00.001-08:00

The ASI library is on the NAI campus. I haven't used it much yet, but I'll provide this practical advice in case you are trying to find it. Read the previous post on the NAI. Note the part where I wrote "Confidently walk forward. The museum is on the left, and there is a sign on the building saying it is the National Archives Museum. Keep walking straight, the path leads right to the building that has the RR."

To get to the ASI library, walk forward as if you are going to the RR. Instead of going up the front stairs and into the RR building, however, take a right turn and head toward the canteen. Don't go to the canteen, instead turn immediately left at the end of the RR building and head to the back of the building.

Trust me. I know this looks wrong. You will get to the back of the building and think, WTF? There are only boys smoking and dogs wallowing in garbage heaps back here, this can't be right. But really, it is. Walk toward the garbage pile. When you are almost there, there is a door in the back of the building. It is a small door, probably hanging open, without any sort of sign. This is the front door to the ASI library. You need to go up to the 2nd floor (where there IS a sign), check your bag, and then wander around inside the library until you hear voices. When you hear voices, follow them, and ask for help. This approach worked for me, anyway.

National Archives of India

2009-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

I'm hesitant to post any advice about using the collection at the NAI in Delhi, because I'm still struggling through the experience myself. But the ArchivesWiki on the NAI is completely empty, and the Archives Made Easy site for India only has one entry, Erica Wald's description of her experience. Actually, Erica Wald's description summarizes my experience at the NAI pretty well, so I'll just add a few details now. I'm sure I'll have more to add in three or four weeks, so check back later.

First, being accepted at the NAI as a researcher is not particularly difficult. You need a letter of introduction from your home institution (in my case, University of Illinois and JNU), any other letter of support you can provide (in my case, a letter from USIEF), a letter from the relevant Embassy (see previous post), and copies of your passport and research visa. You fill out a registration form,* available online at the NAI website, and hand all these papers to the fellow inside the Research Room. Once you are approved to do research, you sign the entry book (at a table just inside the RR door), and then you are ready to work.

But wait. First you have to get to the RR. Here's my advice:

Have your autorickshaw drop you at the NAI gate. Take a blue or black pen out of your pocket. Walk into the Reception Office (guard house) just at the gate, look confident and indicate you are going to the RR, and make a signing gesture. This should make the guard think you know what you are doing. If you look confused, you might have to go into a very elaborate exercise over your ID, and why you don't have an I-card (because you're not Indian), and some phone calls will be made, and you will be very annoyed and upset. Don't get upset! Be silent! Just stand there with your pen in your hand and wait. Eventually, enough people will consult about the matter, and you will be able to sign the entry book.

Here is what you need to write:

Your name IN BLOCK LETTERS. Your Delhi address (don't abbreviate!). In the next space, confidently write DDAR MG. In the next space, boldly write RR. Check the time on the clock over your shoulder and note the time in the next space. Don't make a mistake, or this detail might be cause for more delay. Sign your name on the last space on the line. Don't ask any questions, just act like you know what you're doing.

Then stand and wait, and the guard, who is actually a very nice guy once he knows you're not trying to break in, will write you out a daily security pass. Take the pass in hand, and go through the gates into the NAI complex. Sometimes the guard right inside the gate will want to look at your pass, but usually not. Make sure you say "Namaskar" politely to them, it is good if they recognize you and let you in every day with a smile.

So, you're in the gate, but where is the RR? Confidently walk forward. The museum is on the left, and there is a sign on the building saying it is the National Archives Museum. Keep walking straight, the path leads right to the building that has the RR. Sometimes there is a guard outside this building, so you might want to keep your security pass in hand until you are inside.

Once inside this building, you will need to step around the various construction projects (trust me, they will be still be going on 2 years from now), and take a left through the first left door. You will be seeing some elevators. To the left of the elevators is another door. That is the RR!

You have been reading this, and asking yourself, is this level of detail really necessary for a blog post? But yes, it is, because there is not a single sign to tell you where you are going or what to do. So take notes on this stuff.

The fellow who issues the reading passes is usually in the office to the left just inside the RR door. Sometimes he is sitting at a desk in the middle of the RR, next to a pillar. You will know him because he is facing the door, more or less, and the readers are all facing the opposite direction.

Okay, here is some practical stuff. No bags are allowed in the RR, but there are some lockers just outside the door. They don't lock, and often they are all full so you have to just dump your bag on the floor, so make sure everything valuable fits in your pockets because you will have to take it into the RR with you. Using a laptop at the NAI is no problem. There are several power points, but not enough for every researcher. So far, I have had to run on laptop battery power twice in three weeks, so be prepared for that. Either that, or make sure you get up earlier than I do.

The RR is open from 9:30-6:00. You can stay all day, but the staff go to lunch from 1:15 to 2:30, and you can get no help from them during that time. Sometimes it is difficult to find someone to help even during working hours, and I have no good solution for that problem.

There is a canteen on site (as you leave the RR building, it is to your left), but I haven't used it. Another thing, I don't know how it is for the men, but you have to be pretty courageous to use the women's restroom at the NAI. There is a water leak in the restroom, so...well, it's useable, but not comfortable. The restrooms are on the 3rd floor, by the way.

On your way out at the end of the day, you need to give the security pass back to the fellow in the guard house. One or two days of this routine and he will get to know you and it will all be very pleasant. He also goes to lunch from 1:15 to 2:30, so don't expect to gain entry to the NAI complex during those hours.

Just one other small thing. It is difficult to get an autorickshaw in the late afternoons, so be prepared to wait for one. It's easier to get one headed north than south. Don't let the rickshewallahs fool you--you're not very far from CP, so if they ask you for 100 rupees, they are being bandits. It's more like 20 rupees, but if you can get there for 30-40, you're doing pretty good for a foreigner.

*You will be asked for your research topic--make it as broad as possible, encompassing as many years as possible. I have already been refused access to some PWD records because they do not match my original research inquiry (although they definitely do!). So don't write down your dissertation topic. Write down instead a time period well beyond your actual focus, and a very general topic.

Independent Research

2009-01-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

If you are in India on a research visa, but are not sponsored by USIEF (Fulbright), you are going to need a notarized letter from the U. S. Embassy in order to access the National Archives of India in Delhi.* Contrary to the many rumors circulating on the The Internets, the U.S. Embassy does provide this letter for a $30 fee as part of the notarial services they provide to U.S. citizens.

To receive this letter, you should take the appropriate ID (passport, visa, letters from home university, etc.) and money to the American Citizens Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The Embassy is open for routine consular services from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Embassy closes on a surprising number of holidays, most of which you've probably never celebrated in your life, so be sure and check the list of holiday closings before you head over there. You don't need an appointment, as it's first come, first serve.

To find the American Citizen Services Unit, go to Gate 6 of the Embassy (generally known as the Visa Gate) located on Nyaya Marg in the Chanakyapuri neighborhood. Nyaya Marg runs parallel to Shanti Path, to the west. If you can find Panchsheel Marg, that runs perpendicular to both, crossing both Shanti Path and Panchsheel Marg to the north of the Embassy. Another relatively close landmark is Nehru Park--it runs parallel to Shanti Path along Niti Marg, to the east of Shanti Path. I think the closest Embassy to the U.S. Embassy is Finland's, so if you see that, keep going, you're almost there.

*If you on a Fulbright-Hays DDRA, USIEF will arrange for this letter, free of charge. It takes about a week, so if you're in a hurry, you could always follow the above advice and get the letter yourself (for a fee).

Useful Blogs

2009-01-01T00:45:00.000-08:00

Many of the blogs out there on the interweb are for backpackers and tourists. Some of them are useful, but life as an academic researcher is quite different from life as a footloose backpacker. So, while I do use sites like India Mike when I am thinking of taking a vacation, I generally avoid the other travel/tourist sites. Here are a few sites I find/found useful (I usually read most of them as RSS feeds):

Expat/Local Blogs
Our Delhi Struggle.
Gora Desi in Delhi.
Maddy's Ramblings.
The Delhi Walla.
Delhi Magic.
Delhi Tube.
Same, Same (but different).
DilliNet.
Thepopularcasecentre.
Yuni-Net (Yahoo Group).

Food in Delhi.
Foodiebay.
UncleJi's.
Pudding and Pie.
Eating Out in Delhi.
Coffee Houses.

Out and About in Delhi.
Time Out Delhi.
Delhi Happenings.

Bookstores.
Bookstores in Delhi.
My recommendations: Midlands in Aurbindo Marg Market; Full Circle, N-Block Market, GK-I; Oxford Books (not OUP), Barakhamba Road, CP; Amrit Book Co., 21-N Block, CP (although I usually recommend avoiding CP if at all possible); Book Cafe, located inside Cafe Coffee Day (multiple locations).

Flora/Fauna
Trees of India.
Birds of India.
India Birds.
Delhi Bird.
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Travel.
Delhi Metro.
India Mike.
Make My Trip.
Trains at a Glance.

Hair Salons:
Affinity Salon, Green Park Main Market, Delhi
Geetanjali Salon, Green Park Main Market, Delhi

Clothing, luggage, shoes:
Saronjini Nagar Market

FRRO Advice

2008-12-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

If you are planning on staying for more than six months in India, don't forget to register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at some point in the first fourteen days of your stay. If you are going to be in Dehli, you can find the FRRO at East Block, No. 8, Level-II, R.K. Puram-1, New Delhi-110066, behind Bhikaji Cama (9.30 am- 1.30 pm; 2-4 pm). You need to go through the gates and follow the signs for "FRRO" or "visa office" or "visa renewal," whichever sign you see first.

[Check here for FRRO addresses in a few other cities.]

Officially, the office opens at 9:30, but my advice is to get there at 8:00. I showed up between 9:30-10:00, and the process took almost five hours. A friend of mine showed up at 8:00, was third in the queue, and was done by 10:00.

Here's what you should take to the FRRO (if you are an American, anyway):

comfortable shoes because you will not be able to sit down
your own pen with black or blue ink!
your passport, with research visa glued inside (if you don't have this, you're probably still sitting in the airport, waiting to be deported)
3 photocopies of your passport
3 copies of the research visa
3 copies of the affiliation letter stating that you are a legitimate researcher (for instance, I brought my certificate of affiliation with JNU)
3 copies of your hotel/guesthouse C-Form if you have one
4 passport photos
The flight number and date you arrived in India
Address in India
Address in U.S.
A book to read while you wait, or an MP3 player for chilling
A snack (you're not supposed to bring food, but I did eat a granola bar while standing in line)

Here's what you should expect at the FRRO:

The general process is this: first you stand in line to get a form to fill out (I got the green form, "Applicaton for Registration"). You fill that out with passport number, visa number, flight number, etc. You also get a little book, fill that out with the same information. If you are lucky, they will give you three green forms, and you can fill them out in triplicate. If you are unlucky, you will have to run make photocopies of your one form, because you need to turn in three (make a fourth copy, just in case). You can find a photocopy shop outside the gate, to the left, across the road, maybe 100 yards down the street. This same shop will do passport photos, so don't panic if you forget them, you can buy some after you get the registration form.

Take four passport photos, glue three to the triplicated form, and one in the little book (glue stick is outside main room door, on desk, if someone hasn't stolen it). Collate your documents into three packs. Each pack should have copy of passport, copy of visa, copy of affiliation letter, copy of (green) form.

If you look at the top of your registration form, there should be a handwritten note on it, something like "3/25" or "2/17". This number tells you which counter to keep your eye on (2 or 3 in these examples) and what number you are in the queue (25th or 17th in these examples). In theory, you can take a seat and wait for your number to be called. In practice, you will notice a crowd around each counter, and the truth is, whoever is closest usually gets immediate service. They do call out numbers, but if your papers aren't on the desk approximately two seconds later, you will be passed by. So be alert!

After your number is called, you approach the desk, and the person behind it looks over your forms, types some things into the computer, and stamp stamp stamps everything. Then she or he will send you over to "In Charge." At this desk, you simply hand over the stamped forms, and they smile and tell you to have a nice day as they drop the forms into the in basket. Process complete.

The process takes longer than it needs to take because some people have really odd registration requests. It takes ten people to solve their problem. This is why it is good to be 3rd in the queue, that way no odd problems stall out in front of you. It's not a complex process--pick up form, fill out form, glue photos on form, have form stamped, drop off stamped form--but be prepared to spend a number of hours getting it done.

Chahar Gulshan

2008-12-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

Chahar Gulshan (Four Gardens) is an short history of Mughal India written by Rai Chatar Man Kayath, c. 1759 A.D. The last section of the Chahar Gulshan consists of a road book, describing all the major routes originating in Delhi. Schematically, it is very similar to the Mughal map described by Phillimore (see my earlier post).

Sir Jadunath Sarkar analysed a copy of the Chahar Gulshan now kept in Aligarh as part of his book The India of Aurangzib. In the British Library, I found four other versions of the CG. One was badly damaged by worms and age, but the other three were fairly legible. Here is a page of the most legible, with some translation.

Large view of page:

Right hand column of page:

Translation of cities, top to bottom (south to north, Delhi to Serai Lashkar Khan): Badli ki Serai (now in North Delhi), Narelah, Sonepat, Ganaur, Sahenalkah (Samalkha), Panipat, Ghaurandah, Karnal, Taori-Azambad, Thanesar, Shahabad, Ambalah, Serai Nun, Serai Hajam, Todar Mal, Aluah, Sirhind, Khana, Serai Lashkar Khan. The Persian running down the right-hand side represent the mileage between two cities/caravanserais.

Copy of Mughal Map, c. 1650-1730

2008-11-26T03:11:00.000-08:00

British Library Shelfmark: Maps 188.i.2

Typewritten notes by Reginald Henry Phillimore attached to the map:

"Copy of a Mughal Map probably made about 1780 from an original that at the time of copying had already been seriously damaged...probable date of the original might therefore be placed between 1650 and 1730."

This map is a schematic of Mughal routes through northern India. It follows the same format at the Chahar Gulshan, with place names captured in rectangles (scaled in relation to importance), and rough mileage indicated with numbers written next to the route.

Phillimore wrote extensive notes on the map, but apparently did not publish them. His typewritten commentary can be accessed at the same Shelfmark number as the map.

Large Scale View (click for better resolution):

Detail View (with some translation):

Cities listed in right-hand column, top to bottom [north to south, Delhi to Agra]: Tonk, Faridabad, Sikri, Palwal, Hodal, (Serai) Kosi, Chatur (Serai Chata), Mathura, Koila (Serai Kolah), (Serai) Farrah, Sikandra, Akbarabad (Agra).

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

2008-11-20T02:01:00.000-08:00

A few catalogue listings for Fonds Brotier:

Volume 82 GBro 082
Lettres de l’Inde de Père Gargam: 18 lettres 1726-1741, pour la plupart autographes et adressées (quand le destinataire est indique) au P. Etienne Souciet, du collège Louis le Grand a Paris, avec notations linguistiques, ff. 66-114.

Volume 83 GBro 083
1. Lettre du P. Moriser sj au P. Souciet, 26-1-1731; 3 p. ff. 17-118
2. P. Duchamp: sur le calcul des planètes selon la méthode Graha Chendrika; pour calculer les éclipses; calculs divers; 71 p. ff. 119-115
3. Observations astronomiques diverses, 189; 12 p. ff 156-60 et 162-163
4. Copie d’une lettre du P. Coeurdoux, 17-9-1733, écriture de Brotier; 6 p. ff. 161, 164-165
5. Lettre de P. Duchamp au P. Souciet, reçue en 1733 (copie); 7 p. ff 166-69

Volume 88 Gbro 088
Lettres de missionnaires des Indes au P. Souciet (sauf la première) toutes autographes

Volume 89 Gbro 089
10 lettres de P. Calmette, 1726-1737, au P. Souciet (quand le dentinaire est indique) Autographes, sauf la 1er

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

2008-11-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

Sommervogel, t. 7, 1397-1404. G. Duman, Histoire du Journal de Trévoux, 1936, p. 121-22. Etablissements es Jésuites en France, passim. Feller. Michaud. Roefer.

Souciet, Etienne 12

Ne le 12 Octobre 1671 a Bourges

More le 14 janvier 1744 a Paris

Entre le 8 septembre 190

Prêtre en 1701 a Paris

Derniers vœux le 2 février 1706 à Paris

Fils d’un avocat, apes ses études chez les Jésuites de Bourges il entre au noviciat de la Compagnie à Paris (1690). Apres un an de régence a Alençon (Orne) (1692-93), et quatre au collège Louis-le-Grand à Paris (1693-97), il fit dans la même maison un an de philosophie et quatre de théologie, ordonné prêtre en 1701. Dès 1702 il fut scriptor au collège Louis-le-Grand où il passa presque tout le reste de sa vie, sauf pendant son 3e an, qu’il fit à Rouen en 1704-05. Au cours de ses études il avait acquis une masse de connaissances, qu’il ne cessa d’enrichir. Professeur de théologie positive durant 9 ans (1716-1725), il fut chargé de l’importante bibliothèque du collège de 1725 à 1740. De 1708 à 1725 il donna de nombreux articles non signes aux Mémoires de Trévoux. Sa connaissance du latin, du grec, de l’hébreu, des langues orientales lui permit de réunir en 1715 des dissertations critiques sur les passages difficiles de l’Ecriture sainte. Dans ses dissertations de 1727 il critiqua la chronologie de Newton. Ses relations avec les missionnaires jésuites de la Chine et de l’Inde comme Gaubil, Kögler, Slaviesek, Jartoux, etc., lui permirent se publier en 1729-1732 3 volumes d’observations mathématiques, géographiques, chronologiques et physiques tirées des anciens livres chinois ou faites nouvellement. Il collabora souvent aux Act sanctorum des Bollandistes. ON lit sans son éloge par le P. François Oudin dans les Mémoires de Trévoux : « Son esprit veste, solide, ferme, énergique, étendu lui fit embrasser toutes les sciences : érudition, astronomie, chronologies, mythologies, géographie, médailles, inscriptions, etc.… » Sa charge de bibliothécaire le détacha souvent des se travaux personnels pour le mettre au service de ceux qui le consultaient. Il eut quatre frère jésuites : François (1674-1739), qui fut professeur à La Flèche, Jean (1681-1762), un des collaborateurs des Mémoires de Trévoux, Jean-Baptiste (1684-1738), missionnaire au Levant, mort à Salonique, Etienne-Auguste (1685-1744), supérieur du grand séminaire de Nevers, écrivain, collaborateur des Mémoires des Trévoux.

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

2008-11-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

A history of the Fonds Brotier:

J. Dehergne: les archives des jésuites de Paris et d’histoire des missions aux 17s et 18s

Une part important des correspondances, des rapports et de mémoires venus des pays lointains s’entassait sous forme de liasses dans le bureau du dernier bibliothécaire du Collège Louis-le-Grand, le Père Gabriel Brotier (1723-1789). Ce savant, estime de ses pairs, obtint, lors de la suppression des 80 collèges de l’ordre, par le Parlement de Paris (1er April 1762), de garder a sa disposition ces divers papiers. A sa mort, en 1789, son neveu André-Charles Brotier en hérita (ainsi que de ce qui forme le fonds Rybereyte) ; mais, compromis dans un complot royaliste (1797), emprisonné et ruiné, il n’eut d’autre ressource que de léguer à son avocat, comme gage des honoraires qu’il ne pouvait payer, ces derniers biens qu’il possédait encore. Ainsi, par dons, ou pour achats subséquents, plusieurs séries de papiers ont réintègre nos Archives, ou le fonds Brotier se présente actuellement sous formes de minces volumes relies : on en comptait 200 au milieu du siècle dernier ; mais, par suite des expulsions de 1880 et de 1900, et de prêts inconsidérés, il n’en reste pas que 160. Par la diversité des pièces qu’il rassemble, dont beaucoup sont des autographes ou des copies d’époque, le fonds Brotier, avec lequel on a relie plus tard des écrits du XIX siècle, constitue l’une des sources les plus riches—mais non les plus anciennes—de nos archives.

Royal Society

2008-11-17T11:33:00.001-08:00

An archive staffed by friendly and helpful people. My goal here was to view the original of a series of letters published in the late eighteenth-century in the Philosophical Transactions, and to view the original images that had accompanied one of the letters. It took a bit of work by the picture curator, but she eventually tracked down all the images. I appreciated the opportunity to compare the original letters to the published versions, as well as to compare the original (watercolor) images with the published (engraved) images. Editorial and aesthetic changes introduced by publishing processes are fascinating.

Practicalities: You can bring your camera to save yourself all the on-site transcribing/copying.

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

2008-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

If you're doing research on 18th century India, chances are good you've run across the names of one or two Jesuit priests. They appear in the landscape of southern India with especial frequency, but also toward the north/central region (there was a Jesuit church and college at Agra, for instance). An incredibly curious set of religious folk, the Jesuits took notes on just about everything they saw: language, religion, family, geography, science, trade, travel, etc. We know they were curious, because they wrote letters with unbelievable frequency when they were out on mission, describing the world as they encountered it.

Fortunately, many of the letters written back to Europe from India, China, the Americas and Africa were preserved by the recipient (usually a priest in a higher position). In the eighteenth century, 34 volumes worth of letters were edited and published by the Society of Jesuits under the title Lettres édifiantes et curieuses (you can read a brief summary of the series at Wikipedia, of all places). It takes time to sort out the various editions and publication dates for the volumes, especially if you're trying to do it through interlibrary loan, but I think it's worth it. I've been using the 1781 edition (occasionally reading the 1819 edition for newer punctuation and spellings) because that takes me well beyond the end date for my project (1743).

Unfortunately, even with 34 volumes, the collection doesn't include every letter ever written by every Jesuit priest in the world. That's where the Jesuit Archives in Vanves (Paris) come in handy. I've just started working here, and can I say, this is a really great research experience. Aside from my inability to use the doorbell properly, it's been very painless, even with my abominably poor French (I read it much better than I speak it, obviously). Le Père Archiviste, Robert Bonfils, is friendly and helpful. He speaks perfect English and didn't make me feel stupid for lacking the same fluency with his own language.

Today I looked at two volumes of the Fonds Brotiers, reading letters from various Jesuits interested in astronomy in India and China. These letters nicely fill in the gaps left in the Lettres édifiantes. I think I took the right approach--spent quite a bit of time with the published letters, worked out a timeline and familiarized myself with names and personalities, and then went to the archive. The names I'm reading are all familar to me, and I've read published letters by all of them. This has been surprisingly helpful when I'm trying to decipher complex handwriting.

Practicalities: I had a native French speaker translate my letter of introduction into French for me, but I'm not sure that is necessary. At any rate, you can contact the archivist at:

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus
15 rue Raymond Marcheron
92170 VANVES
France

Contacting Mr. Bonfils ahead of time helped me discover that a citation reproduced a hundred times over in the secondary literature on my subject was incorrect.

The archive opens at 9 a.m., and is closed for lunch from 12:00-1:30, which will give you plenty of time for a nice lunch.

Unlike the British Library, this archive permits the use of a camera, useful for taking images of fragile documents.

There are two Citéa hotels within a two-minute walk of the archive. I can say that Citéa Vanves Porte de Châtillon is clean and comfortable (it looks exactly as the website promises), and it takes me 45 seconds to walk from the front door of the hotel to gate of the archive, 4-5 minutes to walk to the grocery store, and 9-10 minutes to walk to the metro. So, convenient, and inexpensive at Euro65/night.

Foreign Language Journals at RIBA

2008-11-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

If you are studying in a School of Architecture as I am, you probably have access to a decent Architecture Library. Still, it is worth spending some time over at the RIBA British Architectural Library if you are doing research on Central (West) Asia or Northern India. For instance, if you wanted to read an archaeological report from Аркитектцра СССР at home, you would probably need to go through interlibrary loan to acquire it. At RIBA, you can sit and browse through back issues to your heart's content. Ditto for the even more obscure Аркитектура и Строительство Узбекистана. By the end of my first day there, I had articles from Architecture Australia, Parametro, Perspecta, Aujourd'hui Art et Architecture, Architectural Review, Domus, Bauwelt, and Archaeologia. Some of those are easily available in the U.S., but being able to simply sit and browse the others made the trip to that part of town worth the time.

Persian Manuscripts 101

2008-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you are completely new to working with Persian manuscripts at the British Library, here are a few tips for the novice. Hopefully it will save you a few steps when you are trying to find a manuscript from a weak citation. Instead of saying to the reference librarian on duty in the Asia and African Studies Reading Room "Uh...I have a number for a Persian manuscript and I don't know to find it," you can instead say, "Uh...I have a number for a Persian manuscript, and it's not in Ethe or Rieu, and I don't know how to find it." [Truthfully, that statement didn't save me a few steps when I was looking for a manuscript with a D.P. shelfmark, but more on that below.]

First, the new version of the British Library website describes its finding aids for Persian manuscripts clearly but briefly. I will just highlight a few of these and tell you how I have found them useful.

Of the basic finding aids for Persian manuscripts, some are aimed specifically at the mss. held in the British Library, while some attempt to address every Persian manuscript known to humankind. Of the general catalogues, the one you will probably want to start with is C. A. Storey's Persian literature: A Bio-bibliographical Study. Storey's volumes break down as follows (the volume/fascicle numbers change depending on how it is catalogued/which edition you're using):

Qur’ānic literature
Biography (corrections and additions)
General history, the prophets of early Islam
Special histories of Persia, central Asia and the remaining parts of the world except India
History of India
Mathematics, Weights and measures, Astronomy and astrology, Geography
Medicine, Encyclopedias and miscellanies, Arts and crafts, Science, Occult arts
Lexicography, Grammar, Prosody and poetics

I started using the Storey volume on astronomical manuscripts first, but obviously, for historians of India, the volume that contains the History of India is crucial. Also obviously, the volumes are somewhat out of date, even though you'll find plenty to keep you busy. Ghulām Ḥusayn Tasbīḥī wrote a doctoral thesis at the University of London on the problem of updating the volumes, so if you're wondering what you're missing, and why you're missing it, you can read "The Problems of Bringing Storey’s Persian Literature Up to Date (Persian Lexicography)."

Exclusively tuned to the Mughal Empire is D. N. Marshall's Mughals in India: a Bibliographical Survey of Manuscripts. This is good addition to Storey. One difficulty with this index (for me) is that the manuscripts are listed alphabetically according to author--if you know the name of a manuscript, but not the author, you have to do a bit of work to find the description.

If you're working on a science-related topic like me (astronomy), you might want to sit down with A. Rahman's Science and technology in medieval India : a bibliography of source materials in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian (New Delhi : Indian National Science Academy, 1982). This is a great source, as it lets you sift through Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic science manuscripts simultaneoulsy. I should warn you, the abbreviation "I.O." does not stand for "India Office" in this volume. One strong aspect of this catalogue is the attention given to manuscripts held in collections in India--"I.O." refers to one of these, so if you try to order up a ms. numbered, say, "I.O. 4566," it won't work at the British Library (this I know from personal experience).

In the list provided on the British Library webpage cited above, you will see a few catalogues focused on collections now held in the British Library (previously held in the India Office, the British Museum, or elsewhere).

At the end of the nineteenth century, Carl Hermann Ethe began to catalogue Persian manuscripts in the India Office. The first of two volumes was published in 1903, with the second volume following in 1937. So, if you're trying to find a number and description for a Persian manuscript you think was probably originally held in the India Office (for instance, if your shelfmark/citation begins with "IO"), start with Ethe's Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office.

Similarly, Charles Pierre Henri Rieu catalogued the Persian manuscripts held by the British Museum (along with Arabic and Turkish manuscripts). If you think the manuscript was held by the British Museum (shelfmark will begin with BM in older catalogues), turn to Rieu's 4 volume Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts (1879-95) and his Supplement to the Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the British Museum (1895) to read the description.

I won't give advice on how to order up I.O. or B.M. manuscripts using the British Library's Integrated Catalogue (online). Generally, you just use the numeric digits, but the process is impossible to describe in text. Ask the reference librarian for help--they can input the citation properly (even they sometimes have to try twice or thrice to get the right string of letters and numbers), then order up the manuscript for you by proxy. They do this all the time, so go ahead and ask for help.

Finally, since I am providing sources for historians of India, I should also mention Elliot and Dowson's The History of India: the Muhammadan Period, as Told by Its Own Historians (31 vols.), even though it is not really a catalogue. This is a very large collection of manuscript descriptions and translations of ms. excerpts into English. You can often read a short extract in The History of India, cross-reference it with Rieu or Ethe shelfmarks, and come up with the original Persian manuscripts 70 minutes later.

Oh, I promised to discuss the trouble-making "D. P." shelfmark. Storey cited a manuscript held in the India Office as "D. P. 627," noting that Ethe had not included it in his catalogue. I asked for assistance from two different reference librarians, but neither one could figure out the shelfmark. Finally, I was able to contact one of the curators of Persian manuscripts, and she told me that it was "Delhi Persian" papers. When I finally managed to get my hands on this manuscript, the staff at the Deliveries desk were mystified--apparently they only infreqently (never?) see the D. P. shelfmark. Storey described these papers in a separate listing, apparently not published. I'll let you know more about it later, as the curator is going to let me read Storey's description of D. P. 627 Thursday.

Maps at the British Library

2008-10-11T02:31:00.000-07:00

Here is one small hint re: the Maps Reading Room in the British Library. The types of available maps are quite mind-boggling, and you will want to spend the rest of your life in this room, just looking at maps. However, eventually you will be forced to leave, and you will probably wish to take copies of some maps with you. Unfortunately, photocopying/photo-reproducing maps at the BL is incredibly expensive. Even if you have a very generous grant, you will feel very poor the instant you place an order for a photo reproduction. And, even if you could afford it, you will not be allowed to copy any of the maps from the King's collection (Shelfmark Maps K.Top.115.5., for instance). So, what I found was that the Maps Reading Room was great for looking, but not so great for buying.

Although it is not ideal, you can often find scans of these same maps on the web. Some are printable, some are not, but here are a couple links to get you started.

Also, don't forget to check out the catalogue for special collections and maps at your home institution. While there are indeed a lot of maps in the British Library, it is likely that at least some of them are also available at home. Don't waste precious time looking at things you can see before/after your research trip!

Royal Asiatic Society--Finding Aids

2008-09-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

The RAS has a nice collection of Persian manuscripts, so if you can't find want you want in the British Library, you might want to look here:

Codrington, O. "Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani and Turkish manuscripts." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (July 1892): 501-569.

Morley, W. H. A descriptive catalogue of the historical manuscripts in Arabic and Persian languages, preserved in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society. London 1854.

If you're looking for some of the source material for Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han or the Central and Western Rajpoot States of India, start here. Particularly pleased to find documents in Sanskrit/Rajasthani relating to the Kachchawahas. Also includes some calendrical and astronomical treatises.

Barnett, L.D. "Catalogue of the Tod collection of Indian manuscripts." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, II (1940): 129-178.

If you're looking for visual resources, you can investigate the Colebrooke, Doyle, Mackenzie, Ram Raz, Tod and other collections:

Head, Raymond. Catalogue of paintings, engravings and busts in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. London: RAS, 1991.

Robinson, B.W. Persian paintings in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. London: RAS, 1998.

Other catalogues available for RAS:

Catalogue of printed books, published before 1932, in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society. London: RAS, 1940.

Cowell, E.B. and Eggeling, J.B. "Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society." Journal of the RAS (1876): 1-52 [Hodgson collection].

Filliozat, J. "Survey of the Pali manuscript collection in the Royal Asiatic Society." Journal of the RAS, series 3, no. 9 (i) (1999): 35-76.

Ricklefs, M.C. and Voorhoeve, P. Indonesian manuscripts in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1977. [Malay and Javanese MSS].

Wenzel, H. "List of Tibetan manuscripts and printed books in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society." Journal of the RAS (July 1892): 570-579.

Winternitz, M.A. A catalogue of the South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts, especially those of the Whish collection, belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. London: RAS, 1902.

British Library Shelfmarks

2008-09-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

It can be helpful to know some of the shelfmarks for the British Library. Unlike the Library of Congress system, the BL marks books according to location (although some shelfmarks also indicate type of source, like ZA...ZK=periodical). You can plan your day better if you are familiar with some offsite shelfmarks, since those materials take longer to be delivered to the reading rooms.

1. Items that have shelfmarks with the prefixes listed below are available on the open access shelves of the listed reading room:

HLL, HLR, etc Humanities - Floor 1
HUL, HUR, etc Humanities - Floor 2
HUS Humanities - Floor 2 (Sound Archive)
MSL, MSS, etc Manuscripts Reading Room
MUS Rare Books and Music Reading Room (Music)
OI Oriental and India Office Collections
OPL, etc Social Sciences
RAR, RAX, etc Rare Books and Music Reading Room (Rare Books)

2. Newspaper Shelfmarks.

Shelfmarks of items held by the Newspaper Library are preceded by NL or NPL. These titles may be read only in the Newspaper Library Reading Room in Colindale, North London.

3. All material with the shelfmark DSC is held at the Document Supply service, Boston Spa. They take 24-48 hours to reach the Reading Rooms at St Pancras.

4. Science shelfmarks for books begin with (B) – e.g. (B) 004.6. Items from 2003 to date with these shelfmarks will be on open access

5. The 'Maps' shelfmark is self-explanatory. 'Maps OSD' refers to Ordnance Surveyors' Drawings. Maps.K.Top. indicates Maps from the King's Collection (that's what those books are in the transparent central tower of the library).

6. Some Historic shelfmarks (indicating original owner of material) at the BL:

Shelfmark range: 1.a.1. - 304.k.23.
Former owner: King George III (1738-1820)

657.a.1. - 666.a.69.
Sir Richard Colt Hoare (1758-1838)

669.f.3. - 669.f.27.
George Thomason (d. 1666)

671.a.1. - 688.l.9.
Revd Clayton M Cracherode (1730-1799)

Ashley.1. - Ashley.5711.
Thomas James Wise (1859-1937)

B.1. - B.746.
Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820)

Burney.1a. - Burney.1001b.
Revd Charles Burney (1757-1817)

C.1.a.1. - C.16.i.16.
King George III (1738-1830)

Dex.1. - Dex.316.
John Furber Dexter (1847-1917)

E.1. - E.1938.; E.2103. - E.2143.; E.2255. - E.2271.
George Thomason (d. 1666)

Eve.a.1. - Eve.c.29.
John Evelyn (1620-1706)

File.1. - File.849.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

G.1. - G.20240.
Thomas Grenville (1755-1846)

Voyn.1. - Voyn.137.
Wilfred Michael Voynich (1865-1930)

Finding Aids for India Office Maps, British Library

2008-09-24T02:55:00.000-07:00

1. Catalogue of manuscript and printed reports, field books, memoirs, maps, etc., of the Indian Surveys, deposited in the map room of the India Office. (London : W.H. Allen & Co., 1878.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 212.a.5.
Maps 7.b.65.

2. A Catalogue of Manuscript and Printed Reports, Field Books, Memoirs, Maps ... of the Indian Surveys deposited in the Map Room of the India Office. (pp. xxi. 672. W. H. Allen & Co.: London, 1878.)

Shelfmark:
11901.h.40.
W 4280
W 3879

3. A catalogue of maps, etc. of India and other parts of Asia / (London : Sold [for H.M.S.O.] by W.H. Allen, 1874.)

Shelfmark:
V 9765

4. Great Britain. India Office. A catalogue of maps, etc. of India and other parts of Asia / (London : [India Office] : Sold by W.H. Allen, 1876.)

Shelfmark:
V 9777

5. Great Britain. India Office. A catalogue of maps of the British possessions in India and other parts of Asia / (London : [H.M.S.O.] : Sold by W.H. Allen, 1870.)

Shelfmark:
V 9778

6. India Office Records A catalogue of maps, plans &c. of India and Burma and other parts of Asia / (London : [s.n.] : Arnold [distributor], 1891.)

Shelfmark:
W 4938(b)
W 4521

7. India Office. Registry and Record Dept. Catalogue of maps, plans, etc. of India : appendices, no. 43-[90]. (London : India Office, 1903-1916.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 64.b.54.

8. Survey of India. Survey of India map catalogue 1931 : extracts showing the holdings of the India Office Records, Map Room. (London : British Library, 1977.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 216.b.61.

Royal Institute of British Architects Library

2008-08-11T19:09:00.001-07:00

From the RIBA Library site:

August closure 2008

The Reading Room at Portland Place will close at 5pm on Friday 1 August and re-open on Thursday 4 September at 10am. The 75 year old cork floor is undergoing refurbishment. The Library will continue to answer enquiries by telephone, email, fax or letter during this period. "

Regular Library opening times:

Monday: closed
Tuesday: 10am-8pm
Wednesday - Friday: 10am-5pm
Saturday: 10am-1.30pm
Sunday: closed

Members of the public can now access the RIBA Library at 66 Portland Place, London free of charge for reference purposes.

Access to non RIBA members is now free on production of proof of identity; e.g. driving licence, passport, student ID card.

Rajasthan State Archives

2008-08-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

A descriptive list of the Partapgarh Mahkmakhas, English record, 1800 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1994).

A descriptive list of the Chief Commissioner Office, Ajmer, General Branch, 1948 to 1952 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1994).

A list of Bundi English record, 1901 to 1946-47 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1993).

A descriptive list of the Chief Commissioner Office, Ajmer, General Branch. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 199u).

A list of Bundi English record, 1901 to 1946-47 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1993).

A descriptive list of the Partapgarh Mahkmakhas English record, 1800 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 199u).

Jodhapura rājya patra vyavahāra. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1986).

Udayapura rājya kī Kiśanagaṛha, Koṭā, Bādhogaṛha (Rīvāṃ), evaṃ Bīkānera se prāpta kharītoṃ kī vivaraṇātmaka sūcī, saṃvat 1896-1950. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1989).

A descriptive list of the Bikaner Mahkmakhas, English record, Army Department, 1914-1947 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1989).

A list of English records of Mahakmakhas, Jaisalmer, 1891 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1984).

A list of the English record of the Jodhpur Mahakmakhas. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1984).

A descriptive list of the arzdashts (Persian) addressed by the various officials to the rulers of Jaipur, 1707 to 1720 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1986).

Koṭā-Būndī Rājya ke kharītoṃ kī vivaraṇātmaka sūcī, Vi. Saṃvat 1771 to 2000. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1987).

Jayapura arjadāśta, Rājasthānī by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1981).

Kharītā, rājakīya-patra-vyavahāra, Gvāliyara-Jayapura, Bīkānera-Jayapura, evaṃ Karaulī-Jayapura by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1977).

A descriptive list of Bikaner bahis from 17th to 19th century. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1982).

A list of the English records of the Ajmer Commissioner, 1818-1899. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1980).

A descriptive list of the arzdashts (Persian) addressed by the various officials to the rulers of Jaipur, 1658-1707. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1981).

A descriptive list of the Bikaner Mahkmakhas, English record, 1896-1914. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1980).

A descriptive list of the arzdashtas addressed to the rulers of Jaipur (Rajasthani). by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, Govt. of Rajasthan, 1978).

A descriptive list of the khatoot ahalkaran (Rajasthani), 1633 to 1769 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, Govt. of Rajasthan, 1975).

Rajasthan State Archives by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1976).

A descriptive list of the vakil reports addressed to the rulers of Jaipur. by Rajasthan State Archives. (1967).

A descriptive list of farmans, manshurs by Rajasthan State Archives. (1962).

Government Archives in India

2008-08-05T13:16:00.001-07:00

It sounds completely ridiculous to recommend a research guide published in 1969, but I've found it to be really useful, so here it is:

D. A. Low, J. C. Iltis and M. D. Wainwright, eds., Government Archives in South Asia: A Guide to National and State Archives in Ceylon, India and Pakistan (London, Cambridge U.P., 1969).

This book is a good starting point for major archives in India. It's obviously out of date in some cases, but it has been helpful as a prompt for asking questions. For instance, I can write a letter stating, "One of my sources indicates that records from the Finance Department, 1810-50 (Pre-Mutiny Series) are housed in the National Archives in Delhi. Do you know if that collection is still held in Delhi? If it has been relocated, could you kindly provide information as to its new location?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, many collections haven't moved around a lot since 1969, and even if they have, knowing the provenance of the collection can might help track it down now.

Getting to India

2008-08-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

If have plans to do Ph.D. research in India, chances are you already know how to get there. Maybe you're being funded with a Fulbright-Hays DDRA--in that case, USEFI will probably be taking care of a lot of your details. Or perhaps you have an AIIS Junior Fellowship--in that case, you can rest assured that the people in charge of administration definitely know how to get you in and out of the country. However, I've met a few grad students who decided to do research in India at the last minute, so here's some hopefully helpful advice.

FIRST VISIT
I wouldn't recommend planning a lengthy research trip to India if you've never been there before, and in fact, Overseas Research: A Practical Guide recommends you take at least one reconnaissance trip to your area of research before committing to a long-term visit. An "easy" way to test out India is to participate in a language program. I myself did two Hindi language programs through AIIS in preparation for my doctoral research.* Of course, this meant I had to plan ahead, and spend two of my summers away from home. I recommend others take this route, though. If you study in India for a couple of summers, you will having something to put in the "previous preparation" section of fellowship applications, but more importantly, your stress levels will drop dramatically when you start thinking about long term research abroad. You'll have a better idea what you're getting into if you visit for awhile first. Even if you have to spend your own funds to take a quick, three-week vacation in Delhi or Mumbai, I'd recommend you do it, just to get your feet wet.

TOURIST VISA
Obviously, the best way to arrange for research in India is to land a Fulbright-Hays DDRA, Social Sciences Research Council-IDRF, or AIIS Junior Fellowship. Still, you should be able to manage a trip if you have department or university funding. India now outsources its visa processing to Travisa, and you should check those very helpful pages rather than believe what I say, but here's my bit of advice. If you're going to be staying only a few months in India, you can probably get by on a tourist visa. As the India Department of Education says, you can still conduct research while on a tourist visa. Tourist visas are typically only good for six months, so your trip would be limited in duration. If it's your first trip to India, that might be a good thing. To be quite honest, I wanted to come home at the 6.5 week mark on my first trip, and at the 8.5 week mark on my second. So, you might want to plan just a 1-2 month trip the first time, anyway.

RESEARCH VISA
If you want to stay longer than six months, the first thing you should do is check to see if your university is affiliated with AIIS. If your university is a member institution, AIIS can help you obtain a research visa! A lot of people don't seem to know this, or think they shouldn't bother the people at AIIS, but that's why your university joined this organization, to help out students like you. You should keep in mind that obtaining a research visa can take up to six months, so contact them in plenty of time. AIIS can help you arrange for a certificate of affiliation, a necessary piece of paper to get a research visa. My certificate of affiliation with Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi was arranged by USEFI, but I did a lot of emailing beforehand, making sure I had already introduced my research project to faculty in appropriate university departments. I think this is a crucial step: go ahead and e-mail these complete strangers and talk to them about your work. Really, you should do this. It can be a lot of work (I sent more emails that bounced back undelivered than I could even count), but it's good to have potential faculty contacts, and more importantly, some really interesting and helpful people.

$$$$
No matter what, the process is expensive (I paid a total of $397 in fees for photos/passport renewal/research visa processing). Since everything takes so long, you're going to want to budget for overnight mailing. You're going to do a lot of photocopying (the research visa requires seven copies of the "proforma," a data sheet stating who you are and what type of research you want to do).

IRB CLEARANCE
One thing I didn't know about until pretty late in the game is obtaining IRB clearance. As a historian, you probably won't be working with human subjects. Still, my fellowship required IRB clearance, so I had to apply for an exemption. I didn't even understand the questions on the form, actually--I presume they are clearer to people who regularly conduct ethnographic or sociological research, but I had to have several conversations with the IRB representative on campus before I had the form filled out properly. So, this might be something to get to work on right away.

======================
*There are many other options for language programs, of course. If you are interested in Bangla, you can go through AIIS, but you can also apply to go to Dhaka through the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies. UC-Santa Barbara runs a Panjabi studies program in the summer. You can seem some other choices at the University of Chicago Summer Language Resource Center.

Royal Society.

2008-08-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

A collection of official links to useful information for the Royal Society:

The British Library.

2008-08-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

The BL revised its website 15 October 2008, shattering my research routine. Here are a few quick links to useful information for doing work at the British Library.

Take a deep breath.

2008-08-04T20:18:00.001-07:00

The Social Sciences Research Council sent me a pretty useful book a few weeks ago. It's meant for social scientists, of course, but I've gleaned some helpful hints from it even though I'll be doing archival research, not sociology/ethnography/anthropology/etc.

Overseas Research: A Practical Guide

By Christopher Brendan Barrett, Jeffrey W. Cason

Published by JHU Press, 1997

ISBN 0801855144, 9780801855146

142 pages

Looking back on my previous overseas research experiences, I can see one thing that I really needed to do better: ask questions. I was really young and therefore embarrassed, so I tried to fake my way through the research experience on my own. I did a pretty good job, really, but if I could give my younger self one bit of advice, it would be: ask questions BEFORE you leave. All those professors leading your graduate seminars? They did what you're trying to do at one point in time--ask them about their experiences. They may not be so forthcoming--part of getting a Ph.D. is proving you can figure out your research yourself, I think--but for the most part, I think your professors want you to succeed. If they know something useful, they are probably going to tell you.

As for myself, I've forgotten everything useful I once knew about doing research in the U.K. The British Library has completely changed, of course, and I just don't remember much about getting into use the library at the R.I.B.A. And I know absolutely nothing about doing research in India. But if I learn anything interesting, I'll write it down so I can remember to share it with my fellow graduate students once I return.