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First Line Beach, Commercial Street of Madras 1940 
First Line Beach, Commercial Street of Madras 1940 
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First Line Beach, Commercial Street of Madras 1940 

First Line Beach, Commercial Street of Madras 1940 

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First Line Beach, Commercial Street of Madras 1940 Old Photo Old 1940 photo of the First Line Beach, the commercial [...]

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nb-develop-admin2024-01-21T19:33:46+05:30
Ernakulam High Court Boat Jetty, 1935 Photo
Ernakulam High Court Boat Jetty, 1935 Photo
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Ernakulam High Court Boat Jetty, 1935 Photo

Ernakulam High Court Boat Jetty, 1935 Photo

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Parsis Worshipping & BB & CI Bombay, 1903 Photo
Parsis Worshipping And BB&CI Office Bombay, 1903 Photo
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Parsis Worshipping And BB&CI Office Bombay, 1903 Photo

Parsis Worshipping And BB&CI Office Bombay, 1903 Photo

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Parsis Worshipping And BB&CI Office Bombay, 1903 Photo This is a 1903 stereo photo of Parsis worshipping with BB & [...]

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Queen Victoria Memorial Project Allahabad, 1902 Print 
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Queen Victoria Memorial Project Allahabad, 1902 Print 

Queen Victoria Memorial Project Allahabad, 1902 Print 

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Views of Victoria Terminus British Era Bombay - 10 Postcards
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Views of Victoria Terminus British Era Bombay – 10 Postcards

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Fishing Boats At Chowpatty Bombay, 1900 Postcard

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Durbar Hall In Ernakulam (Kochi), 1935 Photo
Durbar Hall In Ernakulam (Kochi), 1935 Photo
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Durbar Hall In Ernakulam (Kochi), 1935 Photo

Durbar Hall In Ernakulam (Kochi), 1935 Photo

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Trams On Esplanade Road British Era Madras, 1945 Postcard
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Trams On Esplanade Road British Era Madras, 1945 Postcard

Trams On Esplanade Road British Era Madras, 1945 Postcard

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Boat Mail Train Over New Pamban Bridge, 1914 Photo
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Boat Mail Train Runs On The New Pamban Bridge, 2 Photos 1914 Rare 1910s photographs of the Boat Mail Train [...]

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Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894

past-india.com

This site illustrates a past India through a collection of antique and vintage mediums of Raja Ravi Varma oleographs, old India photos, old postcards, old paper prints, and so on.

Although the collection may or may not be too varied, but generally projects a glimpse to what India looked like in the past. And how it has evolved since then. Few would realize that once there were Trams in Bombay, Madras, Delhi…

That, Madras operated the first electric Tram in India from 1895 up to its closure in 1953. With Calcutta and Bombay starting off with Horse-Drawn Trams, later electrifying them by the early 1900s.

That, in World War II, they camouflaged the Taj Mahal with bamboo scaffoldings. So as to project it as a construction site that perhaps would fool any air attacks from the Germans and Japanese might, although this never happened. All in all, the jewel in this collection is the rare Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” oleograph or chromolithograph of 1894. This was the first oleograph to come out from the then newly opened Raja Ravi Varma Fine Arts Lithograph Press(or FAL press) in 1894.

The many legacies of the British Raj are not missed out in this collection. Many of the buildings and streets have gone through several makeovers to the extent of being unrecognizable today or have completely disappeared from the scene. But the memories are kept alive hopefully to some extent by this collection.

As they say- “seeing is believing.” Hope you enjoy this collection. Please write to us at- info@past-india.com

Popular & Rare

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Past India

You can see the main categories on the top of the page, and except for the “Raja Ravi Varma Oleograph & Other Art” category all the other main categories have drop-down to sub-categories. You can then select the subject of your interest or you can check through the search box and if available it will display the results. The photos, prints & picture postcards depict a varied subjects of a Past India we may have forgotten- from people on the streets to people at grand events like Delhi durbar, from Taj Mahal to Gateway of India, from residential areas to commercial areas, from home exterior to interior of homes and so on. This site also includes a photo of "Charlie Chaplin" with his autograph signed on the back. There are also old maps, books, Raja Ravi Varma’s oelographs etc. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an old adage, I’m sure this blog should interest you likewise. All the items displayed are from my personal collection unless otherwise specified.

Contact us:

info@past-india.com
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