India’s Influence on Foreign Banknote: Show & Tell

From Bharat to the World: India’s Influence on Foreign Banknotes (Show & Tell)

Join Kunal (Banknote Buddy) to explore how Indian currency influenced banknotes around the globe. See rare examples and hear fascinating stories connecting India to the world.

Currency is often perceived as a utilitarian object—valued primarily for its function rather than its story. Yet banknotes are powerful historical documents, carrying within them the imprints of trade, governance, language, and cultural exchange.

From Bharat to the World: India’s Influence on Foreign Banknotes invites attendees to examine currency not merely as a medium of exchange, but as evidence of India’s far-reaching economic and cultural presence beyond its geographic borders. The talk reveals how Indian monetary traditions—most notably the rupee—traveled across regions, shaping financial systems in Asia, Africa, and the Indian Ocean world.

This presentation encourages viewers to look closely at the banknotes before them—not only as artifacts of value, but as silent narrators of India’s global journey through time.

This show & tell session will be facilitated by Sarmaya Arts Foundation in tandem with our new exhibition Odyssey of the Rupee: From India to the World.

Marking 75 years of the Indian Rupee, Odyssey of the Rupee is Sarmaya’s most ambitious exhibition yet. Curated by Dr Shailendra Bhandare of the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, with Sarmaya Arts Foundation, the showcase spans centuries of currency, from ancient punch-marked coins to the first coin minted in Independent India. The exhibition also explores how the rupee travelled beyond borders, featuring beautiful and rare coins and notes from regions like Mozambique, Java, and Saudi Arabia.

Meeting Point: Sarmaya Arts Foundation, 2nd Floor, Lawrence & Mayo Commercial Premises Co-op. Society Ltd., 276, Dr. D.N. Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001

Landmark: Next to Khadi Bhandar

Age group: Open to All