Curating the Fragments of Local Modernities: The Menaka Digital Archive from the Perspective of Ongoing Research

Abstract

AbstractThe Menaka Archive contains a motley of scattered documents pertaining to the performances of Leila Roy-Sokhey’s Indian ballet in Europe and South Asia between 1931 and 1938. Because the contents of the archive are of varying provenance and quality, some stored under precarious conditions, they can be made accessible and assembled in ways that bring the events together in a multi-layered whole. The authors of this chapter critically reflect on the usefulness of the archive, highlight and question its limitations and link these to the global events of the time. Apart from the composition of the archive, the authors also delve into corresponding research fields to produce a surprising cross-cultural encounter that presents the disparate archival materials in a new light.