The Ravi Varma Press

[Karla Station]

[Karla Station]

This postcard shows a scene at the platform of Karla railway station outside Mumbai where The Ravi Varma Press was headquartered. On the platform, a barefoot man is holding a stick, another is smoking a hookah.

Jumma Masjid Bombay

Jumma Masjid Bombay

Another exuberant, deftly rendered very early postcard by Paul Gerhardt, chief lithographer at the Ravi Varma Press in Bombay. Note the simply drawn mosque minarets, the colors that pull you in while the cart pushes out into the foreground space.

Birth of Shakuntala

Birth of Shakuntala

Vishvamitra was a revered sage in ancient India; this postcard from one of Ravi Varma's most famous paintings shows how he rejects knowledge of his child by turning away and hiding his gaze with a dramatic gesture.

[Original caption] Menaka sent by

Bombay View

Bombay View

Bombay is the anglicized name of the original Portuguese word "Bombaim." Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra.

Vishnu Garud-vahan

Vishnu Garud-vahan

[Original caption, verso] God Vishnu with his two wives, the goddesses of the earth and the wealth, is represented as riding on his vehicle Garud. [end]

The Garuda, a mythical bird, is also called Kashyapi, Chirada, Vishnuratha, Gaganeshvara,

Victory of Indrajit

Victory of Indrajit

[Original caption] Victory of Indrajit : - Indrajit brings Indra as a captive before his father Ravana with the riches and the nymphs of Indra-Loka. [end]

This postcard, from a painting by Ravi Varma, combines a great moment in Hindu religious

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