This volume of essays examines and celebrates how cross-cultural encounters have shaped modern art, a crucial reminder in today's political landscape. In The Local and the Global and Other Essays , K. G. Subramanyan investigates the fate of multiculturalism in a globalized world. He interrogates questions about when art stopped being subservient to the dictates of the calendar and explores how artistic traditions maintain their identity in a global context. Examining how cross-cultural encounters have shaped and absorbed artistic practices across borders, he also discusses the societal and individual role of art and how it has evolved from prehistoric times to modernity. Subramanyan brings his trademark candor, lucidity, and wisdom to these reflections and responses.