Afridi Girl
[Original caption] An Afridi Girl. The Afridis are an Afghan or Pathan people, numbering about 300,000, inhabiting the moutainous region south of the Hindu-Kush. They consist of a number of separate clans, often at feud with each other.
1900-1909
Tomb of Nizam-ood-din
[Original caption] Tomb of the reputed founder of Thuggism, who is supposed to have murdered the Emperor Tuglak in 1325. His body now rests in a sarcophagus, covered with a cloth, and surrounded by a verandah of white marble. [end]
Rope Bridge over Jhelum River, Rampur Kashmir
Rope bridges, a death-defying way of sliding across rivers and canals in Kashmir were described by the American photographer James Ricalton: "Among the Himalayas several kinds of primitive bridges are in use; there are two kinds here before us now.
Madras Coconut Oil Mills
[Original caption] Madras, Cocoanut Oil Mills.
Mudellar [Mudaliar] Caste Lady
![Mudellar [Mudaliar] Caste Lady](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/nautch-girl-india-handwritten.jpg?itok=e4TJdqcz "Mudellar [Mudaliar] Caste Lady")
Possibly a dancer in a nicely hand-tinted postcard; note the red tip of the plant pointing to the lady.
Sinkaleesch [Singhalese]
![Sinkaleesch [Singhalese]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/singhalese-portrait_0.jpg?itok=5T0BUfz4 "Sinkaleesch [Singhalese]")
There are very few Dutch postcards, let alone early ones, of India, but this is a splendid exception.
The Gymkhana, Poona
A slightly mysterious postcard of a gymkhana, a facility invented by colonial residents as a place to play sports starting the 1860s, and slowly planted across cities and cantonments across the subcontinent.
Ceylon Banyan Tree Arch, Near Colombo
[Original caption] Ceylon. Banyan Tree Arch, near Colombo.
Sawing Timber
Timber was mostly used as a building material and for making furniture. Power tools and machines are available to make life easier for carpenters today, but a century ago, specialized workmen plying their trade were a popular postcard theme.
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.
