Kashmir Through Old Photographs

A collection of old photographs showing everyday rural and urban scenes in Kashmir from the late 19th century to the 1930s. The pictures include village children outside a stone house in 1937; a busy stepped street in Srinagar with wooden buildings; schoolboys doing gymnastics in an early 20th century courtyard; the wild Dal Lake wetland ecosystem before modern changes; vibrant River Jhelum yarbal in Srinagar in 1924 with washing and boats; a busy Jhelum riverbank with cantilever bridge in the early 1900s; Kashmiri Pandit peasant women with baskets in the 1890s; traditional musicians playing rabab; Hari Parbat hill and fort in 1920; and the entrance to Baramulla with moored doongas in 1880. Simple views of old Kashmir. This photograph shows a group of village children standing together outside a modest stone-built house in rural Kashmir in August 1937. Their clothing, posture, and bare surroundings reflect everyday life in the countryside during this period, where childhood was closely...

A collection of old photographs showing daily life, trade, education, shrines, and landscapes in Kashmir from the 1870s to around 1915. The pictures include a street-side sweet shop in Srinagar with trays of confections; girl students at Miss Fitze School in Fateh Kadal; a panoramic view of Srinagar across the Jhelum River around 1870; riverbank life in Baramulla in the 1870s; a portrait of a boatman's daughter; devotees at Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom shrine; Verinag Spring with its Mughal pavilion; visitors at Aishmuqam Shrine; patients at an open-air dispensary in Baramulla; and houseboats moored along a quiet lake. Simple views of old Kashmir. A street-side sweet shop in Srinagar around 1915, with large trays of freshly prepared sweets arranged openly for customers along a busy market frontage. Shops like this were an everyday part of urban life, producing confections made from ingredients such as honey, nuts, and grain-based pastes that were widely consumed across the region. These s...

 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 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 landscapes and scenes in Srinagar and surroundings from the early to mid twentieth century. The pictures include Dal Lake in winter with frozen sections, houseboats, and snow-covered mountains; the Khanqah-e-Moula (Shah Hamdan) Mosque with its wooden architecture by the river; the houseboat Snipe on Dal Lake; the Maharaja’s Palace along the riverside; Takht-i-Suleiman hilltop shrine; a view of Srinagar above the Seventh Bridge with river life; Pahalgam valley with mountains and flowing water; a stone bridge on Dal Lake with water transport; and daily life along Dal Lake Boulevard Road in the 1960s–1970s with locals and houseboats. Simple views of old Kashmir. This evocative vintage black-and-white photograph captures the serene beauty of Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir, during a tranquil winter, with the lake partially frozen and blanketed in snow, traditional houseboats moored along the icy shores, bare chinar trees lining the banks, a...

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...