Srinagar Everyday Scenes: Streets, Shops & Heritage 1900s-1970s

A collection of old photographs showing daily life and urban spaces in Srinagar from 1902 to the 1970s. The pictures include a busy street at Nowhatta Chowk near Jamia Masjid in the 1970s with pedestrians, shops, and a film poster; the interior of the antique shop Subhana The Worst in 1959 with carpets and textiles; traditional wooden riverside houses in 1965; prominent buildings in Hazratbal in 1902; the parking area outside Oberoi Palace Hotel in the 1960s with tourist cars; and the Nalamar Canal in 1917 lined with houses and boats. Simple views of old Kashmir.

This photograph captures a busy street scene at Nowhatta Chowk near the Jamia Masjid gate in Srinagar during the 1970s, reflecting everyday life in one of the old city’s most active areas. Pedestrians move past traditional wooden and stone buildings that housed small shops and residences, forming a dense urban setting shaped by centuries of local architecture. A film poster displayed on a tin sheet outside a vegetable shop points to the presence of neighborhood cinemas and the role of popular culture in daily life at the time. The clothing, street activity, and absence of heavy traffic illustrate a period when the old city retained its human scale and close community rhythm. This image preserves a lived memory of Srinagar before widespread structural changes altered the character of its historic streets.

This 1959 photograph shows the interior of the famous Srinagar art and antique shop known as Subhana The Worst, operated by the late Ghulam Rasool Kachroo. The image captures Kachroo presenting his collection of carpets, textiles, metalware, and traditional objects to a foreign visitor within a narrow, densely arranged shop space. The unusual shop name was a deliberate marketing strategy, intended to attract curiosity and distinguish the establishment from competitors. Visitors were told that although the shop claimed to be the worst, they would leave believing it was the best. Subhana The Worst became well known among travelers and collectors, reflecting Srinagar’s mid twentieth century reputation as a center for traditional crafts, cultural exchange, and tourism.

This photograph shows traditional wooden houses in Srinagar in 1965, built along the edge of a river and supported by stone foundations and timber posts. The multi storey structures reflect Kashmiri architectural practices that adapted to limited space, sloping terrain, and proximity to water. Wooden balconies, shuttered windows, and overhanging upper floors are visible, illustrating construction methods that balanced daily living with environmental conditions. The image originates from a French publication by writer Louise Noëlle Lavollé, offering an external contemporary view of Srinagar during the mid twentieth century. It documents a period when river based habitation and locally sourced materials continued to define the city’s residential landscape, prior to widespread replacement by modern concrete structures.

This 1902 photograph shows prominent buildings in the Hazratbal area of Srinagar, reflecting a distinctly Kashmiri architectural style that set the region apart from other parts of the subcontinent. The structures display balanced proportions, arched facades, sloping roofs, and stone and brick construction adapted to the local climate and landscape. Set within open grounds and framed by trees, the buildings illustrate an era when architecture combined functionality with regional aesthetics rooted in centuries of tradition. The image documents Hazratbal before later urban expansion, preserving a view of Kashmir’s built heritage at the beginning of the twentieth century and highlighting the unique character of local design that continues to define the region’s historical identity.

This black and white photograph from the 1960s shows a parking area filled with tourist taxis and private cars outside the Oberoi Palace Hotel in Srinagar. The neatly arranged vehicles reflect a period when road based tourism was steadily growing and Srinagar functioned as a major destination for domestic and international visitors. The architectural structure of the hotel, visible in the background, represents mid twentieth century hospitality development set against the open landscape of the city. Such scenes were common during peak tourist seasons, when taxis served as the primary mode of transport for sightseeing and travel across the valley. The image documents an era when tourism, automobiles, and carefully planned hotel spaces became an important part of Srinagar’s urban and economic life.

This 1917 photograph shows the Nalamar Canal in Srinagar, a historic waterway running through the old city and lined with closely built wooden and stone houses. The canal functioned as an important route for daily movement, transport, and small scale trade, with boats visible along its narrow course. The dense construction on both banks reflects Srinagar’s traditional water based urban layout, where canals served domestic, commercial, and drainage purposes. In the background, the slopes of the Zabarwan range can be faintly seen, situating the canal within its broader geographic setting. Images like this document a period when Srinagar’s canals were central to everyday life, shaping settlement patterns and sustaining neighborhood economies long before many of these waterways were altered or filled.