Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): A former Jammu and Kashmir government employee and a businessman father-son duo on Tuesday held a photo exhibition in summer capital Srinagar in a bid to revive memories of Kashmir's illustrious history. The photo exhibition titled "Nostalgic Kashmir" was held in Srinagar by father and son duo from Srinagar, Showkat Wani and Wasim Wani.
The Wanis displayed a collection of rare photos that captured life in Kashmir a century ago. In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Showkat Wani said that photos from 1850 to 1950 are on display at the exhibition. “Only 8 percent of the more than 60,000 photographs in our collection are displayed here at this time as there is not enough space for all of them. Here are glimpses of Kashmiri historical sites, artwork, crafts, people, and religious locations—but nothing political," Showkat said.
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He said that he and his son formed a collection of pictures from all around the world and reproduced them in Kashmir with due permission. “Some of the photos were acquired through auctions, while others came from Srinagar's Mahata Studios and foreign university collections," he added. The unique collection of photographs serves as a window into Kashmir's past, documenting everything from the first school in Kashmir to the hunting customs of the Dogra era, the first aeroplane landing in Kashmir, and the British military camps.
Showkat said that the Karra Building where the exhibition was held along with another building had been bought by them from the Maharaja during an auction. “These structures then become a source of income for our family. In 1990, there was a fire incident in this building, and it has been locked since then. I finally reopened this building last month, after nearly 32 years, cleaned it, and hosted this exhibition," he said.
Over the collection of the pictures, Showkat said, “Photos from each category were chosen at random and displayed on 40 panels. This time, we did not display photos from Jammu and Ladakh." "We want the young generation to understand the way of life of our forefathers and how we arrived here. Our young scholars and students have a fantastic opportunity to learn about their ancestry and experience life in Kashmir a century ago.
Anyone can come here, there is no entry fee. At this point, I intend to continue the exhibition for 10-15 days."
