Kashmir Through Old Photographs

A collection of old photographs showing everyday life and community scenes in Kashmir from the late 19th century to the 1980s. The pictures include the Fateh Kadal riverfront in Srinagar during the 1940s with its bridge and dense buildings along the Jhelum River; two boys in a wooden boat among lotus plants on Dal Lake in 1981; British-era tents at Sonawar Bagh camping ground in Srinagar in 1911; a group of children gathered near Dal Lake in the 1970s; Kashmiri women spinning wool and pashmina yarn using traditional yander wheels in homes and courtyards; and portrait of renowned oral storyteller Hatim Tilwoun from Panzin village in Kangan in 1896. Simple views of old Kashmir. This photograph from the 1940s presents a view of Fateh Kadal in Srinagar, with the bridge spanning the Jhelum River and a dense cluster of buildings lining its banks. During this period, the riverfront around Fateh Kadal functioned as an important commercial and cultural zone, housing several well-known Kashm...

A collection of old photographs showing everyday street and riverside life in Srinagar during the 1980s. The pictures include narrow residential lanes with traditional multi-storey wooden houses, brick extensions, balconies, overhead wires, and pedestrians going about daily routines; groups of children in simple clothing standing together in neighborhood streets; the Khanqah-e-Moula (Shah-e-Hamdan) shrine with its carved wooden architecture, visitors, and caretakers managing donations; densely built houses along the Jhelum River with stone steps, moored dunga boats, and reflections on the water; a traditional metal utensil shop with hanging pots and vessels; and broader views of the river with bridges, houseboats, and tightly packed riverfront buildings. Simple views of old Kashmir. This photograph from the 1980s captures a residential street scene in Srinagar, offering a close view of everyday urban life away from formal commercial centers. Traditional multi-storey wooden houses li...

A collection of old photographs showing everyday street trades and domestic routines in Srinagar during the twentieth century. The pictures include a baker handing fresh bread to a customer in the 1970s with shelves full of loaves; a portrait of a traditional kulfi seller known for handcrafted treats; a woman husking rice with a wooden pestle and stone mortar in early twentieth-century attire; a modest bakery shop with decorative woodwork and stacked breads; a studio portrait of Hafiza performers from the early twentieth-century dance tradition; children washing clothes along the Jhelum River bank in the late twentieth century; and a neighborhood shop in the 1980s with vegetable displays, pedestrians, and a cinema poster nearby. Simple views of old Kashmir. This photograph shows a Kashmiri baker in Srinagar during the 1970s, handing freshly baked bread to a customer across a wooden counter. Behind him, shelves are stacked with round breads and baked items, reflecting the scale and s...

A collection of old photographs showing everyday life, cultural traditions, and historical landmarks in Kashmir from the early twentieth century to the mid-1950s. The pictures include women spinning wool on traditional wooden charkhas in a domestic setting in 1903; an aerial view of Srinagar in the early 1950s with vast agricultural fields and open spaces in areas like Rajbagh and Nishat; a young Kashmiri girl wearing handcrafted silver jewelry in traditional attire; the Chattabal weir on the River Jhelum as an important water control structure; the old Fateh Kadal wooden bridge over the Jhelum River with dense riverfront houses and the Shah Hamdan Mosque visible; and a portrait of respected Sufiana musician Ustad Ghulam Muhammad Qaleenbaft. Simple views of old Kashmir. This rare photograph from 1903 shows Kashmiri women engaged in the traditional practice of spinning wool using hand-operated wooden charkhas. Wool spinning was a fundamental domestic activity in Kashmir, carried ...