Traditional Portraits & Rural Life in Old Kashmir Photographs

A collection of old photographs showing everyday people, shared spaces, and routines in Kashmir from the early 1900s to the mid-twentieth century. The pictures include a hand-tinted postcard portrait of a Kashmiri woman in traditional attire with silver earrings from the late 1940s; Mohammad Subhan Hajam, a social reformer from the early 1900s; devotees gathered at the Tula Mula shrine around a natural spring in Ganderbal in the early 1900s; Prof Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Hajni, a prominent Kashmiri scholar and poet; a large gathering on Zaina Kadal bridge in Srinagar in 1911 as a social hub; a farmer ploughing fields with oxen in rural Kashmir around 1920; and pony wallahs leading horses on a mountain road in Gulmarg during the 1940s. Simple views of old Kashmir.

This mid twentieth century hand-tinted postcard presents a portrait of a Kashmiri woman dressed in traditional attire, reflecting popular visual representations of Kashmir from the late 1940s and early 1950s. The original photograph, taken in black and white by R. C. Mehta during the late 1940s, was later hand-tinted and mass-printed in colour for postcard circulation, a common practice used to enhance visual appeal for wider audiences. The woman is shown wearing distinctive silver earrings known as Kan-e-Waje, which were characteristically heavy and therefore supported by a Tal Rez, a cord tied to the hair or head covering to reduce strain on the earlobes. Her layered clothing, jewellery, and head covering illustrate traditional Kashmiri female dress of the period, blending everyday cultural attire with a carefully composed studio-style presentation. Such postcards played a significant role in shaping external perceptions of Kashmiri culture, while today they serve as valuable visual records of costume, ornamentation, and photographic practices in mid twentieth century Kashmir.

This early twentieth century portrait depicts Mohammad Subhan Hajam, a noted social reformer from Kashmir whose efforts addressed deeply entrenched social practices of his time. He is remembered for opposing the system of legalized prostitution that existed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a subject that few openly challenged in the conservative social climate of the period. His work reflected a broader movement of moral and social reform emerging in Kashmir alongside educational and cultural change. Despite the significance of his activism, Mohammad Subhan Hajam remains largely absent from popular historical narratives today, making surviving photographs such as this important records of overlooked reformist voices. The image stands as a reminder of individual efforts that contributed to social awareness and reform in early modern Kashmiri society, even when recognition was limited or later forgotten.

This rare early twentieth century photograph shows the Tula Mula shrine in Ganderbal, one of the most important sacred sites of the Kashmiri Pandit community, built around a natural spring revered for its religious significance. The image likely dates to the early decades of the 1900s, a period suggested by the traditional attire worn by those gathered, with most men seen wearing turbans common at the time. The shrine structure stands at the center of the water tank, reflecting the long-standing Kashmiri tradition of integrating religious architecture with natural springs. Surrounding walkways, railings, and closely assembled devotees illustrate how such sacred spaces functioned as communal and ritual centers rather than isolated monuments. This photograph provides a valuable visual record of pilgrimage practices, architectural form, and social life associated with Tula Mula before later renovations and demographic changes altered the landscape of religious life in Kashmir.

This photograph shows Prof Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Hajni (1917–1993), one of the most respected intellectual and literary figures of twentieth century Kashmir. Widely regarded as a leading voice in the Kashmiri literary circle, he is often described as a formative influence on modern Kashmiri language, thought, and criticism. Prof Hajni was a poet and writer in Kashmiri, while also being a polyglot with command over English, Urdu, and Arabic, reflecting the broad intellectual tradition of Kashmiri scholarship. Beyond literature, he was known for his engagement with philosophy, mathematics, and biology, embodying the interdisciplinary scholarship characteristic of his generation. His role as a speaker and public intellectual further positioned him as an important participant in Kashmir’s cultural and political discourse. This image stands as a visual record of a scholar whose contributions shaped Kashmiri intellectual life and whose legacy continues to be remembered with respect.

This historic photograph from 1911 shows a large gathering of people on Zaina Kadal, one of the most prominent bridges of Srinagar, long associated with the circulation of news and public opinion in the city. Popularly remembered through the phrase “Khabar Zaina Kadal,” the bridge was known as a place where information, speculation, and rumors spread rapidly among the population. Zaina Kadal was originally constructed in 1427 AD during the reign of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin Budshah and was a classic wooden cantilever bridge, reflecting traditional Kashmiri engineering. Before 1893, it also functioned as a marketplace, further reinforcing its role as a social and commercial hub. The bridge suffered damage during the floods of 1893, was dismantled by Maharaja Pratap Singh in 1897, and later reconstructed by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1926, with repairs carried out again in 1953–54. This image captures Zaina Kadal not merely as a river crossing, but as a vital civic space where everyday life, communication, and collective sentiment intersected in early twentieth century Srinagar.

This photograph from 1920 captures a Kashmiri farmer ploughing agricultural fields using oxen, illustrating the physical demands and traditional methods of rural farming in the valley during the early twentieth century. Working barefoot in muddy terrain, the farmer guides the animals through uneven soil, reflecting a form of subsistence agriculture that relied almost entirely on human and animal labor. Such scenes were common across Kashmir before the introduction of mechanized farming tools, when ploughing, sowing, and irrigation depended on seasonal rhythms and manual endurance. The image highlights the close relationship between people, land, and livestock, as well as the hardship involved in cultivating fields under challenging conditions. As a visual record, it preserves an important aspect of Kashmir’s agrarian past, documenting the labor, resilience, and everyday realities that sustained rural life for generations.

This photograph from the 1940s shows pony wallahs in Gulmarg, Kashmir, leading their ponies along a mountain road during a period when animal transport formed the backbone of movement for both locals and visitors. Pony wallahs played an essential role in the hill economy, carrying people, supplies, and luggage across terrain inaccessible to wheeled transport. The image reflects the stark economic realities of the time, visible in the simple clothing worn by the men, with one wearing traditional grass footwear known as pulhoor while another walks barefoot. Such details highlight the widespread poverty and hardship faced by working communities despite Gulmarg’s growing reputation as a tourist and military station. Set against the open landscape and distant mountains, the photograph preserves a candid record of labor, mobility, and social conditions in mid-twentieth-century Kashmir, offering insight into the lives of those whose work sustained everyday travel in the region.