Nostalgic Kashmir: Exhibition of rare photographs begins

Srinagar, Aug 8: Nostalgic Kashmir, an exhibition of rare photographs started today.

The organisers of the exhibition, Showkat Rashied Wani, said that this is a rare opportunity for visitors to have a look into life in Kashmir over a century ago.

“The first day of the exhibition went well, and we are hopeful that in the coming days more people will come. These are hundreds of rare photographs and each with a unique story. This is the reason that I will keep the exhibition going for over 10 days so that more people can visit. Today people from multiple walks of life visited the place, including traders, friends, and academicians. In the coming days, I am hopeful that youngsters will visit, and this exhibition will give them a rare outlook on life in Kashmir,” Wani said.

The exhibition displayed rare photographs showcasing Kashmir’s life over a century ago. All the photographs have been collected by Wani and his son Wasim Showkat who hails from Srinagar. The duo has been collecting photos from the early 90s.

The victors said they were mesmerised by the rare photo collection, which they had never seen.

“Such an exhibition takes you back to the past and educates you about who we are. I am a trader working in the city centre for the past many decades, and today I could feel what a treasure they have collected. Our heritage and history is all that we have, and such events educate us in a way no books can,” said a visitor.

To mention, the organisers said that they have reached out to different corners of the world to get these photographs and printed them over the years. The photos include some rare insights about historic places, art, culture, crafts, people, and religious places. Over the next 10 days, the exhibition will showcase 40 different sections of the photograph collection and over 800 photographs taken between the 1850s to 1950s.

The visitors said that they got more knowledge from the photo exhibition about their past. “Be it our education, religion, art, or important places, The photo collection has everything. We got to learn so many new things from this exhibition, and we hope such kind of events about our history and culture will be held and encouraged in the future too,” said a group of visitors.