BOOK LAUNCH! Today 27th October 2020 the biography of the 18th-century traveler in India Jacob Haafner has been launched by NUS Press of Singapore University. Originally researched and written in Dutch by Dr.Paul van der Velde and translated into English … Continued
In my previous blog I shared with you my discovery of the identity of the two VOC officers depicted among the relief-portraits of donors on an eclipse mandapam near Sadras and Mahabalipuram on the ECR in Tamil Nadu, India. They … Continued
The mystery never stopped fascinating me. Two Western men depicted together with Indian donors on what seems at first sight an insignificant little pavilion by the wayside. Just after the bypass off Mahabalipuram on the way from Chennai to Pondicherry, … Continued
Jacob Haafner was a Dutch VOC employee and traveller who lived and worked on the East coast of India for almost twenty years. After his return to Amsterdam he wrote a series of wonderful travelogues about his experiences. I am … Continued
Jacob Haafner was an 18th century traveller from Amsterdam. He wrote extensively about his time in India. Here an excerpt of his description of Mahabalipuram, the first published in the West. With the dawn we boarded again in our … Continued