Old postcards

There's a website I love: ImagesOfAsia.com. It features an eclectic and fascinating collection of old postcards from all over Asia, including over a thousand images of India. These are mostly paintings and lithographs or photographs in colour, black and white, and a few in sepia.

Many of these images are over 100 years old: there are street scenes and city scapes and portraits which offer glimpses into another time. I have often featured images from this collection in my blog posts.

I like the black & whites and especially the portraits. Here are a few I've selected:

Trichy street scenes

A few weeks ago I was in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. This town is famous for its Rock Fort and is the site of some famous temples. It is also the gateway to the temple towns of South India. I captured a few scenes of street life:

Faces of Russell Market

Ganeshas for sale

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi. The potters living in Pottery Town start preparing for this festival months in advance by molding and painting thousands of statues of the elephant god.