The Water Carrier (Bhistee)
Bhistees supplied water to households and regiments
In the past, water carriers used cured hides of animals to carry water. Today animal hides have been replaced by bottles and jars of plastic.
People
Kasauli, The Club
"In any town in India the European Club is the spiritual citadel, the real seat of the British power, the Nirvana for which native officials and millionaires pine in vain," wrote George Orwell in his first novel, Burmese Days (Chapter 2). First
Her Christmas Market
[Original handwritten message, verso] "25/11 Dear David, These are the funny old carriages which we see every day in Calcutta. The old lady has been shopping for Christmas."
An fascinating article on the artist behind this postcard, George Darby, by
Indian Baker and Opium Smokers
A unusual two-image postcard, almost the only one from that most prolific of publishers, Moorli Dhur & Sons. It shows two men on their sides, one of whom is smoking an opium pipe. Such scenes are almost never shown in postcards (exception: an opium
A Group of Punjabi Mohamedan Women & Men
One wonders where this photograph was taken, possibly in the Murree hills but it could have been elsewhere too.
Toddy Drawers
The process begins with collecting sap from coconut or palm flowers as these men are doing. Fresh sap, known as 'Neera,' is initially sweet, lukewarm, and non-alcoholic and collected in small pots attached beneath sliced unopened palm flowers.
Bimla Kumari
Bimla Kumari was an Indian actress who appeared in films throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s and was primarily known as a supporting actress. She may not be as widely remembered as Devika Rani, but she contributed to the early days of Indian cinema.
Kashmiri Woman Spinning
Kashmiri women are often shown spinning on postcards because this was an important economic activity in the region.
The Little Sick Boy
Evelyn Stuart Hardy (1865-1935), the artist who signed this card, was a British illustrator and author known for her contributions to children's literature and periodicals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Out For A Rickshaw Ride
A curious real photo postcard, possibly taken at a Simla, of a local woman in a rickshaw, published in Lausanne, Switzerland.
