Category Archives: Art & Architecture

ACM = ASIAN CULTURE & MUSIC: a festival of traditional performing arts by the Singapore River

This gallery contains 4 photos.

This past weekend, without much fanfare, the first programming series I initiated as Director of Asian Civilisations Museum kicked in. This is the Asian Culture & Music, or ACM Series – kudos to my Audience Team for the clever name! … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The (Oberoi) Grand Hotel, Calcutta

This gallery contains 11 photos.

The Grand Hotel is, as its name suggests, the grande dame of the Calcutta hospitality scene. Located, as it was and still is, on Chowringhee Road, it is situated right in the centre of the city’s social and entertainment scene. … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kalighat, Dakshineshwar and the Hooghly Waterfront, Calcutta

This gallery contains 14 photos.

No visit to Calcutta is complete without a day-trip to two of its most important Hindu temples and pilgrimage sites, and without a stroll along the city’s waterfront from Prinsep Ghat to Babughat – perhaps the most Romantic spot in … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bowbazar to (former) Black Town, Calcutta

This gallery contains 34 photos.

Calcutta in its heyday was divided into two main districts – White Town, which was where the British and other Europeans lived their lives and did their business, and Black Town, which was where the local Bengalis resided. Some of … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

(Former) Dalhousie Square & the Financial District, Calcutta

This gallery contains 31 photos.

Calcutta’s former European Town is a large, sprawling, highly-planned city that occupies much of the southern reaches of Central Kolkata today. At its heart is Fort William, the fortified, walled settlement that the English East India Company established here, along … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Grand Tour III-1: Imperial City…Calcutta (Kolkata)

This gallery contains 21 photos.

Calcutta (Kolkata) is the first stop on my third segment of the Grand Tour of the East. The capital of the province of West Bengal, and the cultural capital of Bengalis worldwide, it is a worthy first stop, and quite possibly … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Grand Tour III – Port and Princely Cities of the Subcontinent

This gallery contains 2 photos.

It’s been 14 months since I concluded the second leg of The Grand Tour here on Dream Of A City. And since it is becoming increasingly clear that I’m not going to be able to secure a contract just yet … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500 – 1900

This gallery contains 1 photo.

The opening of Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500 – 1900 at the Asian Civilisations Museum was tremendously successful, with more than 300 guests attending and having a whale of a time. Thank you very much everyone who was … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Muah Gek 滿月, or One Month In

This gallery contains 5 photos.

So it’s been one month since I took on my new position as the Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum. Well, a month and a half, to be precise. The support, encouragement and general well-wishes have been so overwhelming. The … Continue reading

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Asian, Civilisations, Museum – A Definition of Terms

This gallery contains 4 photos.

So I suppose it’s time to spill the beans. On 1 September, I will take the helm as the Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. It is a magnificent museum, and I am privileged and excited to be taking … Continue reading

More Galleries | Leave a comment