Aug 20 2025 to Aug 20 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Far from home, polished and perched, lie countless Indian artefacts.

Stories of their acquisition, passed down through generations, often obscure the brutal realities of conquest, coercion and plunder. Taken as prized trophies during colonial rule, these objects have sat in museums and private collections for centuries. 

In this talk, journalist and author Shyam Bhatia brings a deeply personal story to light: the journey of a centuries-old Indian artefact passed down through a British military family. Through this single heirloom, he opens up the layered questions of cultural memory, ownership, and the unfinished business of historical justice.

Following the talk, Bhatia will be in conversation with art historian and curator Dr Arnika Ahldag, exploring the roles institutions and individuals play in shaping and restoring the narratives of the past.

This evening invites reflection, curiosity, and conversation that lingers beyond the final word. Bring your questions to the audience Q&A at the end of the session!

Speakers

Shyam Bhatia
War Correspondent & Author
Shyam Bhatia is an experienced reporter and best-selling author. He was born in Delhi and schooled in India and the UK, later serving as US correspondent and Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Before that he was for 20 years on the staff of the London Observer where he worked as a news reporter, Commonwealth and Africa correspondent and Middle East correspondent based for 10 years in Cairo, Beirut and Jerusalem. He has also contributed to the Guardian, London Times, Daily Telegraph and Mail on Sunday.

Among his close personal friends was the late Benazir Bhutto, about whom he wrote his first best-seller, entitled, Goodbye Shahzadi. His second, subsequent best-seller is entitled, Bullets and Bylines From the Frontlines of Kabul, Delhi, Damascus and Beyond, where he reveals how he was captured and tortured by the Afghan mujahiddin. In 1994, Shyam won the British media’s coveted equivalent of an Oscar, Foreign Reporter of The Year, for covering the plight of the endangered Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq. His last exclusive published two months ago in the London Times revealed new details about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ancestry and how his grandfather was born in an Indian town mercilessly bombed by British colonial forces.

Arnika Ahldag
Art Historian & Director of Exhibition & Curation, MAP
Dr. Arnika Ahldag is the Director of Exhibitions & Curation at MAP, where she leads the museum’s curatorial strategy, exhibition-making, and publishing. Her work explores how museums in South Asia can function as spaces for critical reflection, care, and collective imagination. At MAP, Arnika has developed a hybrid programme that integrates digital and physical formats to reach broad and diverse audiences. She has curated exhibitions that foreground underrepresented narratives, trans-regional histories, and questions of social justice.

Her curatorial practice is informed by a background in art history and feminist theory, and a sustained interest in the role of museums and cultural work across geographies. She holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where her research focused on the representation of labour in Indian art. In addition to her curatorial work, Arnika has taught at universities in India and has worked extensively in the fields of performance and contemporary art. She is currently shaping MAP’s research and fellowship programmes, and spearheading regional collaborations that connect institutions across India and beyond.