Indian schoolroom posters

Some of my favorite souvenirs from India are posters for schoolchildren of the sort sold in bookshops and street-side newsstands. They’re always approachable and informative (you know, for kids!) and in me at least inspire lots of far-reaching thoughts about culture and categories. When you have an outsider’s vantage, it’s easier to notice the whims of taxonomy: why display this sort of thing, and not that one. The odd notes always seem most resonant and mysterious: is the strange language and selection a product of shoddy research (Types of Rocks: Volcanic, Metamorphic, Sedimentary, Igneous, Layerd, Sharp, Small, Big, Smooth), or a sign that the obvious groupings don’t always hold up across cultures? [](http://ibdmaphouse.com/Catalog_I.aspx?GPID=2&GrpName;=&SGPID=1&SubGrpName=10 X 14 INCH CHARTS) Newsprint and laminated schoolroom posters, 2–50 Rupees each, from the vast semi-online catalog of Indian Book Depot (Map House), New Delhi, India :: via things magazine