Madras Coconut Oil Mills
[Original caption] Madras, Cocoanut Oil Mills.
Halftone
Gateway to India Singer
An advertising postcard from the Singer sewing machine company, aligning its brand with one of India's most iconic structures, likely soon after it was opened officially in 1924. Note the automobiles on the bottom right.
Ceylon Banyan Tree Arch, Near Colombo
[Original caption] Ceylon. Banyan Tree Arch, near Colombo.
The Syce
A drawing by the painter M.V. Dhurandhar that animates the meaning of "syce" as having to do with "coaxing." It was defined by Hobson-Jobson (1906): "SYCE (p. 885) SYCE , s. Hind. from Ar. sāïs. A groom.
Victoria Driver
A lovely character sketch by the artist M.V. Dhurandhar of a carriage driver in turn of the century Bombay.
Miss Akhtara
A rare early Bollywood star postcard, though the movie the still is likely taken from, and the sad-looking star are unknown.
The Residency, Bangalore.
A beautifully hand-tinted postcard of the Residency in what is now Bengaluru in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Ceylon. Road Near Colombo
[Original caption] Road near Colombo. This is the very fringe of Pettah or native quarter of Colombo. Coconut palms shade it from the hard blue sky and "the state o the sun"; the noise of brass-workers goes on incessantly under the bright red roofs.
Excavations on the Stupa Mound, Mohenjodaro
This discovery of the ancient Indus civilization, announced in 1924 by John Marshall, who led the excavations at Mohenjo-daro, radically shifted perspectives on ancient India.
Nungumbaukum
Historical records in Chennia mention Nungambakkam as one of the three villages (in addition to Egmore and Chetput) that the British East India Company purchased in 1743 to form the port city of Madras.
