Natural Pearl Drilling

The art of natural Pearl drilling has been done in India for centuries. The city of Basra, in present-day Iraq was the main trading centre for the natural pearls found in the gulf between Qatar and Bahrain. These natural pearls became known as Basra Moti (Pearls of Basra) throughout Asia. Continue Reading

Adhiraj Singh and Olkaan Nishtah at the Global Investment Growth Summit

The charming and charismatic Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik – Chairman of The Council for Indian Foreign Policy and statesman journalist with Adhiraj Singh at the Global Investment Growth Summit in The United Arab Emirates – Graciously hosted by His Royal Highness Sheikh Majid Rashid Al Mualla of The Sheikhdom of Continue Reading

The Jaipur Crafts Festival at Jaipur Modern

The Jaipur Crafts Festival – March 11th to 13th, 2022 The event celebrated Olkaan Nishtah and our craft revival initiative along with Antaran, a craft-based livelihood program. The festival spotlighted India’s fabulous traditional methods of material cultural patronage, fresh, technocratic research and data-driven approaches to the enterprise and culture of Continue Reading

An Evening of Indian Art and Rajput Gastronomy

Adhiraj Singh and Shanane Davis take a moment between preparations for this dinner at Karni Leela House in Bikaner. The evening was organised to welcome the Celebrity Chef Sanjay Thakur and to celebrate the beauty and amalgamation of fine art and gastronomic sensibilities. These genres have always been combined as Continue Reading

Bikaneri Lal Mas with Anubhav Sapra, Adhiraj Singh and Shanane Davis

In this episode Anubhav Sapra is being joined by the gracious and amazing duo Graf Adhiraj Singh Devra and Shanane Davis from Olkaan Nishtah (www.olkaannishtah.com), which is a unique enterprise working towards the revival of the finest traditions in South Asian courtly culture including fine and decorative arts, gastronomy and Continue Reading

Ted Talk – Shanane Davis

The Bharat Brand – The History and Patronage of India’s Artisanal Luxury Products  Shanane Davis journeys with the audience through India’s long history as source for many of the world’s finest luxuries. She speaks of how India for centuries dominated global trade in exquisite artisanry: its perfume was sought by Continue Reading

The Laud Rāgamālā Album, Bikaner, and the Sociability of Subimperial Painting

The Laud Ragamala Album, Bikaner, and the Sociability of Subimperial Painting is a tale of two present-day “Indiana Joneses”art historian Professor Molly Emma Aitken and Connoisseur Shanane Davis who made an extraordinary discovery regarding the most famous Indian muraqqa (album book with miniature paintings and calligraphy) found in a European Continue Reading

Welcome to Olkaan Nishtah

Hello and Khamaghani, We are Adhiraj and Shanane. Welcome to our art and culture blog! Olkaan Nishtah