Mary Jane shoes with a nine yards saree

Mary Jane shoes with a nine yards saree
My Paati and Thatha, Lokanayaki and RR Hariharan. My mother's parents from Ravanasamudram, Thirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. Circa 1920.

My Paati and Thatha, Lokanayaki and RR Hariharan. My mother's parents from Ravanasamudram, Thirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. Circa 1920. Image and Narrative contributed by Vani Subramanian, New Delhi He worked with the Indian Railways, and she raised her five children between Delhi and Shimla, learning Hindi and the ways of the 'north' as she went along. This photograph was probably taken fairly soon after they were married. Even my mum who is now 72 years old doesn’t remember them like this at all. So in a sense, they are both familiar and strangers as they appear in the picture. But I do remember the photograph framed and hanging on the wall in the house that they retired to in the village. A house they moved in to the day I was born: 22 Jan 1965. My favourite part of the photograph is that Paati is wearing Mary Jane shoes and white socks with her nine yards saree. I never saw her in shoes in real life. As a matter of fact, I never saw my grandfather in a coat and tie, either. Though I am told that he wore a coat, tie, shoes and pants clipped with bicycle clips as he rode to work from Park Lane to the railway boards offices.

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Six generations of a British Family in India.

Six generations of a British Family in India.
(Left) My Great Great Grandparents Edwin Ebenezer Scott (1850-1931) & Emily Good Andre (1862-1946), Bangalore, 1915. (Right) My Great grandparents, Algernon Edwin Scott & Desiree Leferve with my Grandfather, Bert Scott as a two or three year old boy. Cannanore, Karnataka. 1919

(Left) My Great Great Grandparents Edwin Ebenezer Scott (1850-1931) & Emily Good Andre (1862-1946), Bangalore, 1915. (Right) My Great grandparents, Algernon Edwin Scott & Desiree Leferve with my Grandfather, Bert Scott as a two or three year old boy. Cannanore, Karnataka. 1919 Image and Narrative contributed by Jason Scott Tilley, Birmingham UK These are two photographs from my grandfather Bert Scott's family photographic archive. The photograph on the left, of my Great Great Grandparents Edwin and Emily Scott was taken on Christmas day in 1925 at  3, Campbell road, Richmond Town, Bangalore, our family's house which was one of the old British Bungalows and has sadly like many of the rest, been demolished. On the old ground now stands St Philomenas hospital, right in the very heart of Bangalore. On the right, are my great grandparents Algernon Edwin Scott and Desiree Leferve with my Grandfather, Bert Scott as a two or three year old boy, the image was taken in 1919 in Cannanore, Karnataka. (now Kannur and in the state of Kerala) My family came to India in 1798 when James Scott Savory joined the East India Company as a writer of the Records of state. He was the second assistant under the Collector of Krisnagearry (Krishnagiri). Edwin Ebenezer (left image) is his great great grandson. From the church death records at St. Marks Cathedral in Bangalore it states that Edwin Ebenezer was the Assistant commisioner of Salt in South India. Bert Scott, (little boy on the right) was my Grandfather, and he was born in Bangalore in 1915. He went to Bishop Cottons school before he joined the Times of India in 1936 as a press photographer. Son of Algernon Edwin Scott and…

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A large Telugu family

A large Telugu family
The group photo at my father’s elder brother, Gadepally Suryaprakasam's wedding, Kakinada, (then known as Coconada, East Godavari District of Madras Presidency, Andhra Pradesh. 1913

The group photo at my father’s elder brother, Gadepally Suryaprakasam's wedding, Kakinada, (nee Coconada) East Godavari District of Madras Presidency, Andhra Pradesh. 1913 Image and Narrative contributed by Lt Col (Retd) Dr. G.Kameswararao, Secundarabad This photograph is a wedding group photo of my  father’s elder  brother, Gadepally Suryaprakasam (also known as Surya Prakasarao). It was photographed at  Kakinada, then known as Coconada, in the East Godavari District of Madras Presidency. He served the Nizam government  in the Education Department. My  grandmother, my father’s siblings, his paternal, maternal uncles and their children are a part of this group. The  famous Telugu poet, Devulapalli Krishna Sastry is seated last on the right (on the chair). He was married  to the daughter of my  father’s paternal uncle. My paternal grandfather, Gadepally Venkata Sastry was in the service of Pithapuram Raja. He was a Sanskrit Scholar and a Trustee of the famous Sri Kukkuteswara Swami temple in Pithapuram, in which lies an incarnation of the lord Shiva, in form of a Kukkutam, a 'Cock fowl'. He wrote in Sanskrit a Stotram , in praise of Kukkutam, which my mother got published in 1990. My grandfather passed away by the time this photo was taken and my grandmother is seen herein (middle, standing) as a widow, wearing the traditional white dress covering her hairless head.

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He was a Ph.d. in Sanskrit and Philosophy

He was a Ph.d. in Sanskrit and Philosophy
My maternal grandfather Dr Vasudev Sukhtankar (center, with garland & white turban) Director of Education, Indore State. 1926

My maternal grandfather Dr Vasudev Sukhtankar (center, with garland & white turban) Director of Education, Indore State. 1926 Image and Narrative contributed by Ashok Bhandarkar, Mumbai In this photograph, my grandfather, the Director of Education was on an inspection tour of a school in Tarana (Indore State) on February 6, 1926 with group of boy scouts (probably the entire population of the school!) 'Ajoba' as we called him, was a PhD in Sanskrit and Philosophy from Germany and also a staunch Brahmo Samaji.

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A Telugu politician’s family

A Telugu politician’s family
My maternal family in Wanaparthy, Andhra Pradesh. 1957

My maternal family in Wanaparthy, Andhra Pradesh. 1957 Image and Narrative contributed by Madhu Reddy This is a portrait of my mother's family. My grandfather was an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) at the time from this constituency and had moved recently from Sankireddypalli where they still maintained their ancestral home. My three uncles are in the top line. (from left) Jagdeesh Reddy, Janardhan Reddy and my youngest uncle SriRam Reddy. In the middle is (left) my eldest aunt Vijita Reddy , my grandfather Padbhanabam Reddy, Pramila Devi my grandmother, my youngest aunt Saraswati and Revati Reddy my other aunt. My mom Indira Reddy sits in the front. In the foreground is Raghavlu as he is known, who was part of the family and studied with my uncles. All my aunts and uncles are now live in Hyderabad, most of their children in the US, Canada and India. There are four original copies of this photograph. I'm hoping that one day I can manage to get my hands on at least one of them.

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