The babu, or educated Bengali bureaucrat, could be said to have held the Raj in the twirl of an umbrella. Babus were a new species that blossomed during colonial rule, hybrids of Western needs and Indian traditions.
"The professional photographers of Darjeeling generated innumerable prints depicting those whose toil supported the lifestyles of the colonialists in their homes and businesses, and who created products they loved to consumer," writes Claire Harris
[Original] Durga - Great Eastern Hotel - Telegraph Office - Snake Charmers [end]
A card from the earliest known series of Calcutta postcards by the Austrian photographer W.
Combridge & Co. were among the earliest publishers of India postcards, a number of which they printed as cyanotypes, a blueish monochrome print popular around the turn of the century. This building still exists, but is now the Madras Club.
Snake charmers are one of the most common early Indian postcard subjects, and this must be one of the earliest and most beautiful such views. Note the clever use of the palm backdrop to create the illusion of depth, and the rich use of red.
The Rudra Mahalaya Temple at Siddhpur was conceived and constructed as a tribute to Mahadev, by the first Solanki king of Gujarat, Mulraj (942-996 ACE). Twenty years after ascending the throne, Mulraj was in a position to turn to more unworldly
Most big Madras studios and retailers had branches in Ooti, among them Wiele & Klein, publisher of this very early court-sized view, possibly the earliest of the hillstation.
An early postcard of Kashmir, likely from a Fred Bremner photograph as many other of the firm's postcards of this region were.
Parvati Temple is located on the Parvati hillock of Pune. The 17th century Parvati Temple was the private religious shrine of the former Peshwa dynasty.
Lord Curzon (1859-1925) served as the Viceroy of India for six years (1899-1905). His wife Mary Curzon, also shown in the juhla, wrote in her diaries about one incident that stayed with her from the Hyderabad tour in 1902: “Captain Wigram fired as it
