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| Found the above image ‘Brahmans of Kashmir’ in ‘The Charm of Kashmir’ (1920) by V.C. Scott O’connor (Vincent Clarence Scott, 1869-1945) |
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| My pandit landlord doing his morning ablution. |
Ablution
Kashmir by Abanindranath Tagore, 1920
Found these beautiful rare paintings of Kashmir by Abanindranath Tagore in an old travelogue called ‘The Charm of Kashmir’ (1920) by V.C. Scott O’connor (Vincent Clarence Scott, 1869-1945). Enjoy the incredible art!
The above one is titled “Asoka, who by the white stucco of his fame made spotless the universe” and is the frontispiece for the book. Shankaracharya temple in the background adds a surreal touch to this painting.
Nasim Bagh
Nishat
Chashma Shahi
Fate and the Pleasure-Lovers
Night at the Shalimar – The Emperor Shah Jahan
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Update: Came across following two paintings in a CD titled ‘Indian Paintings’ produced by Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India.
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“Emperor’s march to Kashmir
Artist: Abanindranath Tagore (lived 1871-1951)
Medium: Tempera on paper
Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore, is credited with the founding of the Bengal School of Art. This movement revolted against the western manner of painting as represented by artists such as Raja Ravi Varma and sought to revive ancient and medieval Indian traditions of painting. Through the Bengal School, Abanindranath attempted to create a national movement.
Collection: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi”
Journey’s End
Dated 1913
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Trans Asiatic Harrdt Cintrogen Expedition,1931-32
This is a guest post by Man Mohan Munshi ji who has generously offered to share some more stuff from his incredible collection.
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The first car nears the summit of Burzil Pass
A half track at Burzil Pass 13,857 ft. on Great Himalaya Range between Gurais and Gilgit.
FIRST EVER ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS BY MOTOR TRANSPORT
By M.M.Munshi
It was and is still believed by most of us that earliest record of motor transport having surmounted the Great Himalaya Range was made by a couple of Honey Staurt tanks and few weapon carriers of the 7th Light Cavalry supporting the Infantry in storming of the 11,500 high Zojila Pass in relief of the Leh operation on 4th November 1948.
In reality the earliest record of motor transport of having not only surmounting but also having crossed the great Himalaya Range was made by half tracks of the Trans Asiatic Harrdt-Cintrogen Expedition in crossing the 14,000 ft high Burzil and other passes between Srinagar and Gilgit and beyond in 1931.
In an era of glorious expeditions there was hardly any more splendid expedition undertaken than the 1931-32 Trans Asiatic Harrdt Cintrogen Expedition sponsored by National Geographic and undertaken by Harrdt with his French team. During early 1920s Harrdt had traversed the Sahara in his half track vehicles designed by Andre Citrogen . On April 4th 1931 with seven specially designed cintrogen half tracks Harrdt set off from Beirut in Lebanon in an attempt to reach yellow sea by roughly following the route of Marco Polo’s journey seven centuries earlier.
The expedition was supposed to cross the Asia from Beirut to Beijing,avoiding the Pamirs through Soviet Turkish republics in one set of half tracks,but Soviet refusal to permit the expedition through their territory the expedition had to be divided ; one set of seven half tracks assembled on east coast of China and moved westwards and another set of seven half tracks moved from Mediterranean through Lebanon,Syria, Iraq,Iran, Afghanistan to Srinagar in India covering a distance of 5,580 kms from Beirut to Srinagar in 81 days between April 4th April to 31st June 1931.
The half tracks performed very well in deserts as well as river crossings on their own power . Despite expert opinion at Srinagar that the expedition with its half-tracks will never be able to make up to Gilgit, the expedition left Srinagar on Trans Himalayan journey on 12th July 1931 with only two of its half tracks supplemented by ponies,/mules and porters for transportation of equipment, including spares for vehicles, fuel, supplies and other things. Going was very smooth for the half tracks between Srinagar to Gurez ,but beyond Gurez lot of difficulties were met with in ascending the Burzil Pass in waist deep snow and in talus and scree covered slopes on the north face of the Himalayas; especially between Godoi and Bunji where fresh landslides and rock falls had had eliminated the track. At places the half tracks were hauled with ropes to prevent side slipping. At places the half tracks were dismantled and carried in parts on porters over small bridges and badly damaged portions of the tracks. One of the cars near Astor was got stranded on its front wheels and right track while the road under the left track collapsed was retrieved almost by a miracle. Beyond Gilgit between Nomal and Chalt , with the time left at the disposal of the expedition and limit of having reached the limit of motor-able tracks the half tracks were abandoned and expedition proceeded with ponies, mules the only means of practicable transport after crossing the Karakorom Range. The expedition used 60 double humped camels,80 ponies/mules and in due course of time reached Kashgar (Kasi) in Sinkiang(modern Xinjiang) on 19th September 1931.The journey eastwards was continued in half tracks of the China group which met them on 24th October and reached Beijing on 12th Feb 1932.. The expedition eventually traveled to Vietnam unfortunately losing its leader George Harrdt at Hong kong due to pneumonia.
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Man Mohan ji came across these photographs in a library in Hoshiarpur. I searched around on the net and realized that the book was probably ‘The Citroen-Haardt Trans-Asiatic Expedition From Beirut to Beijing by Halftrack, 1931-1932’ published by National Geographic Society in 1932. At Google books found an interesting News article regarding the expedition in The Sydney Mail dated April 13, 1932. According to the article the purpose of Georges-Marie Haardt’s expedition was to estimate the business and trade possibilities of central Asia. Read the News article here.
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A Kashmiri Pandit marriage procession, 1911
The following incredible photograph (an original scan) has been generously contributed by Man Mohan Munshi ji. A big thanks!
The photograph certainly speaks of an opulent time.
The photograph certainly speaks of an opulent time.
A Kashmiri Pandit marriage procession in 1911 at Bulbul Lankar Ghat Srinagar with an eight year old bridegroom.
[The image name reads ‘Babuji Wedding 1914’]
Update. The photograph is in fact from a private collection. Man Mohan Munshi ji say’s:
It is the marriage photograph of my late father B.N.Munshi 1904-1977 who retired in early nineteen sixty as the first secretary of J&K Public Service Commission and was employed as Registrar, Regional Engineering College , Srinagar from 1962-1966 . We are original residents of Munshi Mohala Bulbul Lankar. Srinagar. The bearded gentleman standing in the Shikara is my late grand father Munshi Amar Chand and next to him is his son- in- law Late Makund Ram Bhan of Agha Hamam.The band with the procession is the state Band provided by Maharaja Pratab Singh. The bride(Gauri) my late mother is in the Zanpana seen in the center of the photograph with ana; white bearded gentlemen is her Dodbab. The Photograph was taken at the yarbal of Bul Bul Lankar in front of the Ziarat of the sufi saint Bul Bul Shah while the procession was returning by boats from Brari Yarbal near Fateh Kadal.
Ladakh in 1920s
Old photographs of Ladakh from ‘Kashmir in Sunlight & Shade: a Description of the Beauties of the Country, the Life, Habits and Humour of its Inhabitants, and an Account of the Gradual but Steady Rebuilding of a Once Down-trodden People’ by Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1922).
Mulbe is famous for great Maitreya rock sculpture.
Read about the account of Hye Ch’o, a Korean pilgrim who travelled through the Himalayas between 724 and 727.
…but they are crafty
– A Snake Charmer in the New Bazaar, Srinagar, Kashmir, 1892
from Illustrated London News. [found it here at Columbia.edu]
[Update: It was the work of J. E. Goodall]
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‘[They] are good-looking…but they are crafty’.
wrote Buddhist pilgrim from China, Huen Tsang who arrived in Kashmir in A.D. 631 as a state guest and stayed for two years. The exact words,”light and frivolous, and of a weak, pusillanimous disposition. The people are handsome in appearance, but they are given to cunning. ‘They love learning and are well-instructed.”
Kashmir in 1920s
Some more vintage photographs from ‘Kashmir in Sunlight & Shade: a Description of the Beauties of the Country, the Life, Habits and Humour of its Inhabitants, and an Account of the Gradual but Steady Rebuilding of a Once Down-trodden People’ by Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1922).
A Winter scene by Pandit Vishwanath.
Back waters of Dal
Floating Gardens of Dal.
Diving from the old school.
Dussehra sequence from Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar The Clown wasn’t mere magic realism.
Tiny dots are the pilgrims.
Swarup Rani, Pandit Nehru’s Mother
With Dejhoor, Athoor and Atah dangling from her ear.
An Old photograph of Nehru’s Mother, Swarup Rani, housed at Teen Murti Bhavan.
Kashmiri in 1922
Some more old photographs of Kashmir from ‘Kashmir in Sunlight & Shade: a Description of the Beauties of the Country, the Life, Habits and Humour of its Inhabitants, and an Account of the Gradual but Steady Rebuilding of a Once Down-trodden People’ by Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1922).
Pounding Rice: The mortars are block of wood hollowed out: the pestles are heavy pieces of timber which makes this daily round in women’s work very arduous.It is the women’s duty to convey water for domestic use. The constant practice of balancing the pots on their heads gives them an erect and graceful poise.
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Pandit Marriage, 1922
The bridegroom, aged 14, stands in the centre, priests are sitting in front. Pictures of various gods and goddesses lie on the ground.
Photograph by Pandit Vishwanath.
There’s a good chance that the photo depicts the thread ceremony of Pandits or Yagnopavit. It’s the sahibaan, the tent, in the background that I found interesting.
Found it in: ‘Kashmir in Sunlight & Shade: a Description of the Beauties of the Country, the Life, Habits and Humour of its Inhabitants, and an Account of the Gradual but Steady Rebuilding of a Once Down-trodden People’ by Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1922).
