Cultural Capitals: Future Legacies of India's Cities Srinagar

Qamoos Bukhari was born and partly raised in Srinagar - Kashmir. He studied English Literature at Hindu College, University of Delhi. He is the author of Borderless: The Artisans of Kashmir (2016). Qamoos’s work has appeared in museum catalogues internationally and in journals including Financial Times, Elle Décor, Marg, Architectural Digest, and HuffPost, and exhibited at Bikaner House, New Delhi, Dar Al Funoon, Kuwait, among others. Recently, he conceptualized, photographed, and edited the book Architectural Ornamentation in Shrines & Mosques of Kashmir published by Roli Books in collaboration with the INTACH Kashmir Chapter. Exploring the rich cultural and artistic traditions of Kashmir, Qamoos works at the intersection between research and documentary practices.

Onaiza Drabu is a Kashmiri anthropologist. She writes about identity, nationalism, and Islamophobia, and co-curates a newsletter called Daak on South Asian literature and art.

Hakim Sameer Hamdani is Design Director at INTACH Kashmir, whose primary area of research remains the medieval and early modern period of Kashmir’s history, focusing on cultural linkages that connect Kashmir to and through the Silk route to South Asia as well as to Central Asia. He has studied the influence of the larger Indic civilization as well as the Persian-Islamic tradition on the formation of Kashmiri culture and the transnational links in the early-modern period, and inter-community linkages within the Kashmiri Muslim society. Since 2004, he has completed different projects and studies related to the mapping, preservation, and revitalization of historic and cultural sites in Kashmir. Some of the major conservation projects he has overseen include the Reconstruction of 18th century wooden Shrine of Pīr Dastgīr Ṣahib (2020–12) and Conservation of 15th century, ʿAāli Masjid at Eidgah, Srinagar (2007)— both of which were longlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, as well as the Mughal Gardens of Kashmir. He has worked with worked with different academic, national and international organizations including UNESCO, WMF (World Monument fund) and World Bank. He recently oversaw the preparation of the dossier for successful inclusion of Srinagar on the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN-2021). His book based on his doctoral research, The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th ‐ 18th Century) was published by Routledge in March 2021. He is forthcoming book Shi’ism in Kashmir: A history of Sunni‐Shia rivalry and reconciliation, is being published by I B Tauris. He is also co-editing a book on Mughal Gardens of Kashmir. His interests have expanded to include mercantile networks and architectural patronage in nineteenth century Kashmir, highlights the so far undocumented role of Kashmiri merchant families and their patronage of major religious monuments of Kashmir. Building upon his investigation, he intends to develop further the role of these merchant families and to investigate the significance and relation of Kashmir with the cities of Silk route, particularly Yarkand, Khotan and Kashgar as the fulcrum around which moved the caravans that linked South Asia across the daunting barrier of the world’s highest mountains, to the expanse of central and west Asia. He is currently a Aga Khan Fellow in Islamic Architecture, Conservation and Urbanism at MIT.

Prateek Sadhu Born and raised in Kashmir, Prateek Sadhu graduated from the Culinary Institute of America before stints at some of the world’s finest kitchens including Alinea, The French Laundry, and Le Bernardin. A tenure at Noma drove home lessons of how to cook from the region and harness the soil; this food philosophy changed his life. He then moved to The Pierre Hotel in New York, followed by a return to India as sous chef at Le Cirque. *=In 2016, Prateek co-founded Masque in Mumbai, where was also the head chef; the restaurant advocates holistic, indigenous cooking, inspired by the produce of India and has garnered numerous accolades since opening.

Aparna Andhare is the Deputy Editor, Live History India, looking after programming for LHI Circle. She was, until recently, a curator at the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, the City Palace, Jaipur. Joining the Museum in 2017, she worked on developing a new gallery on transport, contributed to publications, had collection responsibilities, and handled outreach activities including social media. Specialising in art and architecture of early modern India, she has two master's degrees: Art in the Global Middle Ages (University of Edinburgh, 2017), and Arts and Aesthetics (Master's, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2012). In Bombay, she has worked on independent archiving projects, and taught and co-ordinated the Art Design History and Theory programme for the undergraduates at ISDI-Parson's Mumbai (2013-16). Aparna contributes to various publications on art and culture.