Halftone

[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.

Fruit Seller

Fruit Seller

Note the rich character on this man's face in an image by M.V. Dhurandhar, one of India's most exceptional and prolific early 20th century painters and postcard artists.

Sent to Master E.

Madras Seven Pagodas

Madras Seven Pagodas

While we now believe that the temples date to the Pallava King Narasimharavan around 630 CE, much about their origins remains obscure. This is an embossed postcard, with the relief lines meant to simulate an old oil painting.

[Original caption] Seven

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

Pages

Subscribe to Halftone