Kashmir Through Old Photographs

This post brings together early photographs that trace everyday life in Kashmir as it unfolded along rivers, lakes, neighbourhood spaces, and places of routine activity. The scenes move through moments of prayer in shrine courtyards, children swimming in the Jhelum after school, women spinning yarn and trading vegetables on Dal Lake, and villagers gathering in shared outdoor spaces. Education, work, leisure, and movement appear closely connected to water and locality, reflecting a way of life shaped by familiarity with rivers and lakes rather than separation from them. Taken together, these photographs offer a quiet, human view of Kashmir in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where daily routines, community life, and landscape were deeply intertwined. The Shah-i-Hamadan Mosque stands prominently on the banks of the Jhelum River in Srinagar in 1920, its tiered wooden roof and riverside position forming a distinctive part of the city’s skyline. Also known as Khanqah-e-Mou...

 A collection of old photographs showing everyday routines, crafts, and community moments in Kashmir from the 1870s to the early 20th century. The pictures include a woman spinning yarn on a traditional yander wheel outdoors with a child nearby; children playing the hopscotch-style game saz’lo’ng in a village courtyard around 1903; a young shepherd’s daughter seated by a sheep overlooking Dal Lake in the late 19th century; the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar viewed from surrounding lanes in 1906; a studio portrait of women in pherans with hookah and kangri in 1907; charcoal sellers carrying heavy loads along a path in the 1870s; earthenware hawkers with baskets of clay pots on a roadside in the late 19th century; a serene view of Manasbal Lake in the 1880s; paddy fields and villages near Banihal Pass in 1928; and a young girl on a wooden boat on Dal Lake. Simple views of old Kashmir. This early twentieth century photograph shows a Kashmiri woman seated outdoors, operating a yander, the tr...

A collection of charming vintage postcards and photographs showcasing mid-20th century Kashmir's beauty, culture, and daily life. The pictures include a young woman in red embroidered pheran with dejihoor earrings; two women with ornate attire and hookah; houseboats on Dal Lake; the floating vegetable market with loaded shikaras; devotees at Hazratbal Shrine; suspension bridge in Pahalgam with horseback tourists; bustling Lal Chowk streets; Shalimar Bagh terraced gardens; pony treks to Thajwas Glacier in Sonamarg; and a group of women and children with a Western visitor in a rural setting. Simple views of old Kashmir. This charming vintage postcard from mid-20th century Kashmir features a young Kashmiri woman radiating warmth with a gentle smile, elegantly dressed in a deep red pheran adorned with intricate golden tilla embroidery, a crisp white headscarf, traditional heavy ear ornaments (dejihoor), and multiple gold bangles on her wrists, posed against a painted backdrop of misty ...

A collection of old photographs showing everyday scenes in Kashmir from the 1860s to the 1970s. The pictures include lotus flowers blooming on Dal Lake in the early 20th century, a street view of Lal Chowk in Srinagar during the 1960s–1970s, a sunset on Dal Lake, a historic bridge in Srinagar with river activity below from the early 1900s, Manasbal Lake in the early 20th century, the River Jhelum in Srinagar with grass-grown rooftops before the 1940s, dunga boats moored along the Jhelum in the 1960s, a peasant girl in rural Kashmir from the 1870s, the bridge at Ganderbal in the early 20th century, and a Kashmiri boat girl near the water from the 1860s–1870s. Simple views of lakes, rivers, and daily life in old Kashmir. A wide view of lotus flowers in full bloom across Dal Lake in Srinagar, photographed in the early twentieth century. The dense spread of leaves and blossoms covers the water surface, with mountains rising quietly in the background. Such scenes were a familiar part of ...

A collection of old photographs showing everyday life and movement in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir from the 1860s to the 1980s. The pictures include historical views of the River Jhelum with wooden bridges, boats, and waterfront buildings; a postcard of river traffic and settlements against mountains; a flower seller on Dal Lake in 1968; horses for rent and the valley meadows in Sonamarg in 1980; Kashmiri women and children in a garden during the 1970s–1980s; shikara boats at Dalgate on Dal Lake; the Jhelum River Bund area with houseboats and poplar trees; a young Kashmiri girl in traditional attire from the 1860s–1880s; and a busy Srinagar street scene with transport and pedestrians from the 1960s–1970s. Simple views of daily routines in old Kashmir. This captivating 19th-century engraving by French artist M. Albert Tissandier beautifully depicts a traditional wooden bridge spanning the Jhelum River in old Srinagar, Kashmir, with multi-storied timber houses featuring latti...