Nasim Bagh to Pampore: Everyday Scenes in Old Kashmir Photos

A collection of old photographs showing daily routines and shared spaces in Kashmir from 1864 to the 1980s. The pictures include an early view of Nasim Bagh on Dal Lake in Srinagar in 1864 with mature chinar trees and a natural lakeshore; a floating shikara shop selling cosmetic items on Nageen Lake in the 1950s; women carrying water pitchers on their heads along a village road in 1980; schoolchildren being ferried across the River Jhelum in a crowded shikara in 1975; horse-drawn tangas lined up at Tanga Adda near Lal Chowk in Srinagar in 1951; and a street in Pampore in 1984 with pedestrians, a cycle rickshaw, cars, and shops. Simple views of old Kashmir.

This 1864 photograph presents a rare early view of Nasim Bagh, the historic Mughal garden located on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar. Established during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar in the late sixteenth century, Nasim Bagh is recognized as the earliest Mughal garden in the Kashmir Valley. The image captures a wide, open landscape marked by mature chinar trees, gently sloping ground, and an unembellished lakeshore, reflecting the garden’s original natural setting before later urban development. Small boats are visible along the water’s edge, indicating the close connection between the garden and lake-based movement. Human figures appear minimal and distant, emphasizing scale and tranquility rather than activity. The photograph preserves an early visual record of Nasim Bagh as a spacious, tree-dominated landscape shaped by Mughal garden philosophy, where harmony between nature, water, and open space defined the character of Srinagar’s historic gardens.

This photograph from the 1950s shows a shikara operating as a mobile floating shop on Nageen Lake in Srinagar, illustrating a distinctive aspect of lake-based commerce during the mid-twentieth century. The boat is fitted with a simple canopy and displays cosmetic accessories such as artificial hair wefts and caps, items commonly purchased by visitors staying on nearby houseboats. The vendor is seated calmly within the shikara, attending to his goods while navigating the still waters of the lake. In the background, houseboats and surrounding hills frame the scene, emphasizing the integration of tourism, water transport, and small-scale trade. Such mobile shops were an essential part of the lake economy, bringing goods directly to customers without the need for fixed market spaces. This image preserves a visual record of everyday commercial life on Nageen Lake, reflecting both entrepreneurial adaptation and the unique cultural landscape of Srinagar in the 1950s.

This photograph from 1980 shows women carrying earthenware water pitchers along a village road somewhere in Kashmir, reflecting a long-standing practice of collecting and transporting drinking water by hand. The pitchers are balanced carefully on their heads, demonstrating skill developed through daily routine. The women are dressed in heavy winter clothing, including pherans, indicating cold seasonal conditions, while children walk alongside them, emphasizing the family-centered nature of everyday tasks. Stone houses, leafless trees, and a quiet rural setting form the backdrop, suggesting a village environment shaped by simplicity and self-reliance. During this period, drinking water was often sourced from natural springs and streams, requiring no mechanical systems or large infrastructure. The image preserves a visual record of daily labor, traditional methods of water collection, and the rhythm of rural life in Kashmir during the late twentieth century.

This 1975 photograph shows a crowded shikara ferrying schoolchildren and their teacher across the Jhelum River in Kashmir, highlighting the river’s role as an everyday route rather than a barrier. The children are seated closely together inside the narrow wooden boat, accompanied by an adult supervising the crossing, reflecting routine school travel in riverine neighborhoods. Houseboats and wooden riverside structures line the background, emphasizing how education, housing, and transport were closely integrated with the waterway. Such crossings were a normal part of daily life for many students living on opposite banks of the river, long before widespread bridge access and modern transport became common. The image documents a period when the Jhelum functioned as a shared public space, supporting not only trade and residence but also access to education. It preserves a lived moment of childhood, responsibility, and community trust within Kashmir’s river-based urban life of the 1970s.

This 1951 photograph captures the Tanga Adda in Srinagar, a central stand for horse-drawn carriages located near Lal Chowk, close to the KMDA Adda and the telegraph office. Multiple tangas are seen lined up along the roadside, with drivers, passengers, and pedestrians moving through the area, illustrating a busy transport hub of the period. At the time, tangas were a primary means of public transport within the city, commonly used for travel between key areas such as the hospital zone and residential neighborhoods. The orderly arrangement of carriages and the absence of motor vehicles reflect a phase when urban mobility depended largely on animal-drawn transport. This scene documents a transitional period in Srinagar’s transport history, before mechanized vehicles gradually replaced traditional modes of movement. The image preserves an important visual record of everyday travel, street organization, and public life in mid-twentieth-century Srinagar.

This 1984 photograph captures a street scene in Pampore, Kashmir, illustrating the coexistence of multiple modes of transport during a transitional period in everyday mobility. Pedestrians move along the roadside while a cycle rickshaw operates in the center of the street, accompanied by private cars and a goods truck, reflecting a layered transport environment. Wooden shopfronts with corrugated roofs line the road, indicating a semi-urban marketplace shaped by local commerce and modest infrastructure. The absence of buses underscores the reliance on smaller, flexible forms of movement suited to local distances and road conditions. Clothing styles, vehicle types, and street layout together convey the practical rhythm of daily life in the mid-1980s. The image documents how traditional and emerging forms of transport functioned side by side, offering a realistic record of mobility, commerce, and street life in Pampore during this period.