1980s Srinagar Shops & Neighborhood Trade in Old Photos

A collection of old photographs showing everyday commerce and street life in Srinagar during the 1970s and 1980s. The pictures include an elderly shopkeeper seated among sacks of grains and spices while holding a hookah; men at a timber distribution site using traditional weighing scales for logs; two children standing on a street with shops in the background; densely packed wooden houses along a riverbank with carved balconies; children seated on the edge of a traditional donga houseboat; a multi-storey brick commercial building with shops like a printing press; a lively fruit market at Dal Gate with crates of apples and handicraft displays; residents on a long donga on the River Jhelum; a cotton seller surrounded by large sacks for bedding materials; and busy ground-floor shops under wooden residential buildings with hanging laundry and signboards. Simple views of old Kashmir.

This color photograph shows an elderly shopkeeper seated inside a traditional market shop in Srinagar, surrounded by sacks of grains, spices, and everyday provisions. The interior reflects a typical small-scale trading space where goods were stored in cloth and jute bags, stacked neatly along wooden platforms. The shopkeeper holds a traditional hookah, indicating customary leisure practices that often accompanied long working hours in local markets. Such shops formed the backbone of neighborhood commerce, supplying essential items to nearby households through personal relationships and daily interaction. The image captures a quiet moment of working life in Srinagar, preserving the atmosphere of small family-run businesses that once defined the city’s market culture.

This color photograph from the 1970s shows men gathered at a timber distribution site in Kashmir during the government-regulated wood ration system. Large logs are stacked in the background while a traditional weighing mechanism with chains and counterweights is used to measure allotted timber. Under this system, households could apply for subsidized wood for construction and heating needs, particularly during harsh winters. The men’s attire and tools reflect manual labor and locally adapted methods of handling heavy timber. Such ration depots played an important role in meeting domestic fuel and building requirements at a time when alternative energy sources were limited. The image documents a structured yet labor-intensive system that formed part of everyday survival and resource management in Kashmir during the late twentieth century.

This color photograph from the 1970s captures two Kashmiri children standing together on a street in Srinagar, with shops and everyday city life visible in the background. Their worn clothing and relaxed posture reflect the realities of urban childhood during this period, when streets served as spaces for work, play, and social interaction. The younger child smiles openly at the camera, while the older child stands protectively beside him, suggesting a bond shaped by shared daily experiences. Such images document the human side of Srinagar’s past, preserving the faces and expressions of children who grew up amid the rhythms of street life, markets, and neighborhoods that defined the city in the late twentieth century.

This color photograph from the 1980s shows a dense cluster of traditional wooden houses built along the riverbank in Srinagar, reflecting the distinctive urban architecture of the city during the late twentieth century. The multi-storeyed structures, with their carved wooden facades, projecting balconies, and closely packed arrangement, illustrate how residential life in Srinagar evolved around waterways. Below the houses, wooden structures and boats line the water’s edge, indicating the continued importance of rivers for transport, daily chores, and livelihood. The scene captures a period when traditional construction methods and community living were still intact, offering valuable visual evidence of Srinagar’s historic river-based urban fabric before large-scale modernization altered much of this landscape.

This color photograph shows two Kashmiri children seated on the edge of a traditional donga, a large wooden houseboat used as a floating home on the waterways of Kashmir. Dongas were commonly used as permanent residences by river-dwelling families on the Dal Lake and the Jhelum River, forming close-knit floating communities. Unlike small shikara boats meant for transport, dongas were wide and flat-bottomed, often divided into multiple rooms that functioned like a household on water. The simple wooden structure, cloth coverings, and everyday setting visible here reflect the lived reality of children growing up in these floating homes, where daily life unfolded along the riverbanks. The image offers a valuable glimpse into a disappearing way of life that once defined Kashmir’s water-based settlements.

This color photograph from the 1980s captures a streetfront commercial building in Srinagar, reflecting the architectural and urban character of the city during the late twentieth century. The multi-storey structure, built in exposed brick with arched wooden windows and doors, housed small businesses at street level, including a printing press and metal works, as indicated by the shop signage. Overhead electric lines and wooden utility poles mark the period’s infrastructure, while the closed shutters suggest early morning or a pause in daily trade. Such buildings were common in central Srinagar, blending traditional Kashmiri construction techniques with functional commercial use. The image documents a transitional phase in the city’s urban life, when older architectural forms continued to serve everyday economic activity before large-scale modernization altered much of the historic streetscape.

This color photograph from the 1980s shows a lively fruit market scene in the Dal Gate area of Srinagar, one of the city’s most important commercial and transit points near Dal Lake. Large stacks of apples and other seasonal fruits dominate the shopfronts, carefully arranged in wooden crates and open displays that reflect traditional retail practices of the period. Vendors stand behind the counters while local residents move through the narrow pavement, engaging in everyday buying and selling. Above the market, shop windows display Kashmiri handicrafts and textiles, indicating the coexistence of local trade and tourism-oriented businesses in this area. Dal Gate served as a vital link between the old city, the lake, and surrounding neighborhoods, and such markets were central to daily urban life. The photograph captures the rhythm, density, and visual richness of Srinagar’s street commerce before later urban changes reshaped these spaces.

This color photograph from the 1980s shows a traditional donga on the River Jhelum in Srinagar. Dongas were long, flat-bottomed wooden houseboats used as floating homes by local families living along the riverbanks. Unlike the later tourist-oriented houseboats of Dal Lake, these river dongas were primarily functional spaces, combining shelter, storage, and daily household activity within a simple wooden structure. The image captures residents engaged in routine tasks, reflecting a lifestyle deeply connected to the Jhelum, which served as a vital lifeline for transport, water access, and economic activity in the city. The modest construction, temporary repairs, and practical layout highlight the utilitarian character of these boats, which formed an important part of Srinagar’s river-based neighborhoods. This photograph documents a fading urban tradition from a period before large-scale modernization transformed life along the River Jhelum.

This color photograph from the 1980s shows a cotton seller operating from a small shop in Srinagar. Loose cotton used for making mattresses, quilts, pillows, and traditional bedding is stacked in large sacks around the shopkeeper. Such cotton shops were common across Srinagar, supplying households with raw material that was later cleaned, fluffed, and stitched locally. Before factory-made foam mattresses became widespread, cotton bedding was an essential part of everyday domestic life. The image documents a disappearing urban trade and reflects the simplicity of small-scale commerce in Srinagar during the late twentieth century, where traditional occupations continued to serve local needs within neighborhood markets.

This color photograph from the 1980s captures a busy stretch of streetfront shops in Srinagar, set beneath a traditional multi-storey wooden building with carved balconies. Ground-floor shops display hand-painted signboards for medical stores, dry fruit sellers, and small commercial establishments, reflecting the mixed retail character of the period. Laundry hanging from upper balconies illustrates everyday domestic life coexisting with commerce, a common feature of Srinagar’s older neighborhoods. Pedestrians, modest storefronts, and locally run businesses together form a streetscape that defined urban Srinagar before large-scale redevelopment and modern commercial complexes altered the city’s architectural and social fabric.