Art Indica with Alka Pande and Nidheesh

About Art Indica with Alka Pande and Nidheesh

Art Indica brings you intimate, insightful conversations between Dr. Alka Pande, revered art historian and curator with over three decades of scholarship, and Nidheesh, founder of Abir Pothi, India's only daily digital art newspaper. Together, they explore the rich art and visual culture of the Indian subcontinent with depth, curiosity, and genuine love for the subject. Season 1: 500 Years of Mughal Arts takes you on a journey through half a millennium of artistic brilliance. You'll discover the stories behind Mughal architecture, miniature painting, and the inner workings of the empire.

Publisher

Abir Pothi

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Jun 2026

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Indian Art & Erotica: Kama Sutra, Desire, Love & Beyond | Art Indica Season 2 | Alka Pande & Nidheesh

   In Episode 20 of Art Indica with Dr Alka Pande and Nidheesh, we bring Season 2 to a close with a wide-ranging reflection on Indian art, erotica, desire, pleasure, love and spirituality. Across this season, the series explored one of the most celebrated yet frequently misunderstood aspects of India’s artistic heritage: the erotic in Indian art. From Vatsyayana’s Kama Sutra and the sculptural traditions of Khajuraho to Radha-Krishna devotion, Ardhanarishvara, Devadasis, temple art, miniature painting, gender, sexuality and the aesthetics of longing, the season traced the many ways Indian civilisation has understood desire. In this wrap-up conversation, Dr Alka Pande argues that desire, passion, beauty and emotion are essential to human existence. She explains why the erotic and the spiritual are not opposites in Indian thought, but part of a continuous flow, from Kama to Moksha, from physical pleasure to divine union. The episode also examines why India’s approach to pleasure was historically distinctive, how colonial Victorian morality reshaped attitudes towards sexuality, and why the Kama Sutra must be understood not as a sex manual but as a philosophical and cultural text about living a complete, ethical and aesthetically rich life. This episode is both a conclusion and an invitation: to see Indian art not through the lens of shame or censorship, but through its original context of beauty, pleasure, ritual, philosophy and human experience. Watch the full episode to revisit the ideas, artworks and stories discussed across Season 2 of Art Indica. Art Indica with Dr Alka Pande and Nidheesh is a series by Abir Pothi exploring Indian art, aesthetics, mythology, architecture, culture and visual history. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Season 2 wrap-up 00:51 Desire, passion and the essence of life 03:01 The spiritual dimension of Indian erotica 04:26 Pleasure and taboo in Indian civilisation 05:05 Victorian morality and the Kama Sutra 06:11 Why erotic art appeared in temples 07:32 Shiva, Parvati, Kamadeva and Ananga 08:48 Women, sexuality and the Kama Sutra 10:49 What the Kama Sutra is really about 12:17 Courtesans, agency and social life 13:40 Love, luxury and living well 15:22 Love stories in medieval Indian literature 17:03 Language, poetry and India’s multilingual traditions 17:23 Gender, identity and contemporary relevance 19:03 Reflections on Season 2 19:27 Has India done enough to reclaim this heritage? 21:43 Conclusion and what comes next

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Love, Longing & Viraha in Indian Art | Kalidasa, Miniatures & Ajanta | Art Indica Ep. 19

   What happens when love is experienced through absence? In Episode 19 of Art Indica with Dr Alka Pande and Nidheesh, we move beyond eroticism to explore the quieter, more emotional dimensions of love in Indian art and culture: tenderness, loyalty, sacrifice, separation, waiting and longing. The episode introduces the idea of Viraha—the pain and beauty of separation from one’s beloved. From Kalidasa’s Meghaduta and Sangam poetry to Sufi traditions, Bhakti literature, classical dance, music, miniature painting and Buddhist murals, Viraha has remained one of the most enduring themes in Indian artistic expression. Dr Alka Pande discusses how love moves between the physical and the spiritual, from Kama and sensual desire to the longing of the Atma for the Paramatma. She also explores the many meanings of love, including Shringara, Vatsalya, Ishq-e-Majazi, Ishq-e-Haqiqi and the devotional tradition of Sakhi Bhava. The conversation explores: The meaning of Viraha in Indian aesthetics. Kalidasa’s Meghaduta and the cloud messenger carrying a lover’s message. Love, separation and longing in Sangam and Urdu poetry. The relationship between physical love and spiritual devotion. Virahini Nayikas, Ashta Nayikas and the Abhisarika heroine. Viraha in classical dance, folk songs and Indian music. Ragamala paintings and the relationship between raga, mood, season and time. Baramasa paintings and the emotional associations of the twelve months. The Virahini Nayika in Pahari miniature painting. The different visual languages of Pahari, Rajasthani and Deccani miniatures. The depiction of love and loss in the Ajanta murals. Yashodhara presenting Rahul to the Buddha. The emotional world of the so-called “Dying Princess” at Ajanta. Nala and Damayanti as a story of love, separation and female agency. Shakuntala’s subtle gestures of desire and farewell. Raja Ravi Varma’s representation of Shakuntala. The love stories of Rama and Sita, Savitri and Satyavan, and Nala and Damayanti. Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal as a tribute to love. Dara Shikoh’s muraqqa made for Nadira Begum. The representation of male tenderness, emotionality and devotion. From a woman waiting for her beloved beneath monsoon clouds to a princess overwhelmed by grief, Indian art often expresses what cannot be directly seen: memory, absence, anticipation and emotional longing. In this episode, love is not treated only as desire or erotic union. It is also shown as a force that shapes poetry, painting, music, architecture, devotion and sacrifice. Watch the full episode of Art Indica to explore how Indian artists, poets and storytellers have transformed the experience of missing someone into one of the richest subjects in art. Art Indica with Dr Alka Pande and Nidheesh is a series by Abir Pothi exploring Indian art, aesthetics, mythology, architecture, culture and visual history.

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Queer India in Art & Myth: Ardhanarishvara, Mohini, Shikhandi & Hijras | Art Indica Ep 18 | Dr Alka Pande

   "If they see breast and long hair coming, they call it woman. If beard and whiskers, they call it man. But look, the self that hovers in between is neither man nor woman." (Devara Dasimayya, 10th-century Vachana poet) Is gender fluidity a modern Western idea? Indian art, myth and culture say otherwise. In Episode 18 of Art Indica (Season 2: Indian Erotic Art), host Nidheesh and art historian and curator Dr Alka Pande explore how Indian art has embraced the third gender, cross-dressing, transgender identities and same-sex love, from ancient terracottas to Mughal miniatures and Sufi poetry. Drawing on Dr Pande's book Ardhanarishvara, the Androgyne: Probing the Gender Within, the conversation covers: 🔸 Ardhanarishvara and the union of Purusha and Prakriti 🔸 Early androgynous terracottas and the Tritiya Prakriti (third gender) in the Kamasutra 🔸 Vishnu as Mohini, the Samudra Manthan, and the birth of Ayyappa from Shiva and Mohini 🔸 Mahabharata stories: Arjuna as Brihannala, Shikhandi, Bhangashvana, Ila and Chitrangada 🔸 Female impersonation in Indian performance: Mirasis, Launda Naach, Ramlila, Kuchipudi and Koodiyattam 🔸 The Kangra painting of Radha and Krishna dressed in each other's clothes 🔸 Govardhan's Mughal painting of two women sharing a tender moment 🔸 Sufism, Amir Khusrau and the Jamali Kamali tomb in Mehrauli 🔸 Why lesbian women still face less visibility and acceptance in India than gay men Dr Pande also shares news of an updated edition of her book, reimagined as Shiva Shakti for a contemporary LGBTQ+ context. Coming up next: from the physical forms of love and erotica to love and longing. Art Indica is produced by Abir Pothi. 👍 Like, subscribe and share with anyone who loves Indian art, history and culture.

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Guest appearances

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.