Rare Vintage Kashmir Photos: 1980s Dal Lake & Srinagar Daily Life

A collection of old photographs showing everyday life in Srinagar and around Dal Lake, mostly from the 1980s. The pictures include Srinagar streets with vendors and tangas, children playing in neighbourhoods, women on houseboats and shikaras, people watching TV through a window, and lakeside community scenes. Some earlier images from 1890s–1930s are also included: artisans decorating papier-mâché, families spinning thread, Jhelum River ghats, and traditional Kashmiri women. Simple glimpses of daily life in old Kashmir.

A busy street scene in Srinagar photographed during the 1980s, showing pedestrians, local vendors, and a horse-drawn tanga operating alongside everyday market activity. The street reflects a period when traditional transport, walking, and small-scale commerce shaped urban movement more than motor vehicles. Shops line the narrow road, goods are sold at street level, and people of different ages share the same public space. Such streets functioned as both commercial centers and social spaces, where daily routines, conversation, and trade unfolded together. The image documents the character of Srinagar’s urban life during the late twentieth century, before later

A group of children photographed in Kashmir during the 1980s, standing together in an open outdoor space. Their clothing reflects everyday attire worn by children during this period, with simple fabrics, layered garments, and practical footwear suited to daily life. The image captures an unposed moment of childhood, showing curiosity, movement, and social interaction among children of different ages. Such scenes were common in neighborhoods where open grounds and shared spaces formed an important part of growing up. The photograph serves as a visual record of childhood in Kashmir during the late twentieth century, preserving details of dress, environment, and everyday social life.

A scene from Dal Lake during the 1980s showing women seated on a dunga and a nearby shikara alongside wooden lakeside houses. One woman exchanges an item through an open window while others sit quietly in the boats, reflecting routine domestic interaction between houseboats and small watercraft. Such moments were part of everyday life in Dal Lake communities, where women used shikaras and dongas for household movement, communication, and short-distance travel. The photograph documents the close relationship between lakeside architecture, water transport, and daily social life in Srinagar during the late twentieth century, when the lake functioned as both a living space and a primary route of movement.

A 1921 printed photograph showing a royal barge passing along the Jhelum River in Srinagar, with large crowds gathered at the Church Mission School to witness the occasion. The multi-storey school building is decorated and filled with spectators watching from balconies, rooftops, and riverfront terraces, reflecting the importance of ceremonial river processions during this period. Such events drew public attention and were closely linked to royal visits and official occasions in Kashmir. The image documents the role of the Jhelum as a ceremonial route, as well as the architectural presence of missionary institutions within Srinagar’s urban and social landscape in the early twentieth century.

Neighbours gathered outside a residential home in Kashmir during the 1980s, watching a television set through an open window. At a time when television ownership was limited and electricity access was uneven, it was common for entire neighbourhoods to share viewing from a single household. People stood quietly outside, looking in through windows, drawn by the novelty of moving images and shared entertainment. The photograph documents early television culture in Kashmir and reflects a social environment shaped by scarcity, proximity, and strong communal bonds.

A 1928 photograph depicting two Kashmiri women dressed in traditional dance attire, seated with a hookah placed beside them. The women wear heavily ornamented headpieces, jewelry, and embroidered garments, reflecting the ceremonial costumes associated with Kashmiri dance traditions of the early twentieth century. Such dancers were often invited to perform at formal gatherings, celebrations, and courtly events, where music, movement, and costume formed an important part of cultural expression. The image provides a visual record of performance culture in Kashmir during this period, highlighting craftsmanship in attire and the social settings in which these traditions were practiced.

A 1902 photograph showing a river ghat on the Raj Bagh side of Srinagar, located near the area of the present-day Presentation Convent School. Stone steps descend directly to the water, where wooden boats are moored and people gather along the riverbank for daily activities. Such ghats served as essential points for transport, washing, loading goods, and social interaction, reflecting the central role of waterways in Srinagar’s urban life. The image documents early twentieth-century riverfront architecture and illustrates how residential areas, schools, and daily life were closely connected to the river long before modern road access became dominant.

A Kashmiri woman seated on the ground while spinning thread using a traditional wooden spinning wheel, an essential household tool in early twentieth-century Kashmir. Spinning and preparation of yarn formed a fundamental part of domestic labor, closely linked to weaving, clothing production, and local handicrafts. Such work was typically carried out within residential courtyards or near homes, reflecting the self-sustained nature of household economies. The image documents everyday women’s labor in Kashmir, highlighting skill, patience, and continuity of traditional practices passed down through generations.

A late nineteenth-century photograph depicting everyday home life in Kashmir around 1890. Members of an extended family are shown gathered within a residential courtyard, surrounded by household tools such as spinning wheels, baskets, and cooking vessels. Women are engaged in spinning and domestic tasks while elders and children sit nearby, reflecting the shared nature of labor within the household. Such home settings functioned as centers of production, care, and social life, where multiple generations lived and worked together. The image provides a valuable record of domestic architecture, material culture, and family structure in Kashmir during this period.

An 1895 photograph showing Kashmiri artisans engaged in the decoration of papier mache objects inside a traditional workshop. Seated on the floor, craftsmen carefully paint and assemble trays, boxes, and ornamental panels, surrounded by finished and partially completed pieces. Papier mache was one of Kashmir’s most important handicrafts, known for its detailed floral motifs, lacquered surfaces, and skilled handwork. The image documents an organized craft environment where artistic production, manual skill, and household-based industry came together, reflecting the long-standing tradition of artisan labor that shaped Kashmir’s material culture and economy during the late nineteenth century.