India in Maps
A culturally diverse country like India cannot be simply mapped by its borders and geography. Every aspect of the country, ranging from the food and festivals to the languages spoken differ between territories and hence, a single canvas is never sufficient to capture such a vast variety of treasures which India holds.
The Better India’s “India in Maps” is a series which comprises a collection of Indian maps capturing the myriad of ‘big pictures’ of our heritage and the features which unify us as a nation.
Every map in this series is made with love. Our team’s constant brainstorming to generate content results in a carefully curated list of elements spread throughout India. I spent countless hours constructing the map through careful placement of the components, whilst working with the overall aesthetic in tandem to fit the theme of the map.
The Maps
The first two maps I made in this series are the Winter Food Map and Saree Map respectively.
The Winter Food Map of India maps the soul-warming food which the populace of every Indian state typically consumes during the chilly months.
The Saree Map of India is wrapped throughout with the various types of sarees worn by Indians. Every state possesses a signature style of weaving and dying the swath of fabric, thereby claiming cultural ownership on the techniques.
Moving ahead, the maps delve into covering India's renewable energy projects and the distribution of signature summer drinks throughout the country.
The Top Renewable Energy Projects Map, a part of The Better India's "Shaping Sustainability" series, documents the plethora of renewable energy projects implemented across the lands to reap the benefits of renewable energy.
The Traditional Summer Drinks Map of India pours to the audience, a concoction full of refreshing elixirs native to every state of the country.
Further down the line, the maps pit themselves against each other with contrasting themes of sweet and spice.
The Chilli Map of India exhibits India's affinity for heat and spice. The country being the largest producer of chillies also displays that it holds the widest variety of chillies through the map!
To balance the spice and to top off the meal with something sweet, the Mithai Map of India depicts the enormous amount of 'mithai' (sweets) spread throughout the country to satiate the desires of the sweet-toothed population.
Food is India's soul, and the maps continue to prove the point. What better way to satisfy the hunger other than a good bowl of breakfast with sides of fruits?
The Breakfast Map of India celebrates the incredible variety of lip-smacking delicious food which Indians across the country wake up to.
The Fruit Map of India showcases the abundant amount of fruits produced throughout the country. The density of the map testifies to the fact that India is the second-largest producer of a wide range of fruits growing in different states.
To top it off with loads of warmth, the maps take a deep dive into exploring warm plates of monsoon food and khichdis, the comfort food of India made out of rice and lentils.
The Monsoon Food Map of India is monsoon on a plate, which allows the audience to embark on an adventure from the comfort of their homes to unearth the several dishes consumed on a rainy day!
The Khichdi Map of India presents the soul-satisfying avatars of Khichdi throughout the nation.
