Kochi: Ever wonder how Keralites lived 100 years ago? Photographs of the lifestyle, attire, schools and hospitals in Kerala taken by a studio in Chennai and shared by Southern California University, USA, describing Kerala’s day-to-day life 100 years ago have surfaced on internet. Seventy-eight photos providing glimpses into Kerala culture are going viral on the social media with several persons sharing them, including Thiruvananthapuram MP Sashi Tharoor.
The pictures were shot by unidentified photographers who worked for Clain & Paul studio, Madras. Most of the pictures belong to the Basel Mission. There are photographs of Brahmin, Muslim, Nair and Christian families. The oldest photo is of the Mananchira Trade House and the manmade lake taken in 1850.
The photos of Lighthouse, Calicut, Chirakkal mosque, Kannur, Tali temple, Kozhikode, Indian Mission Station, Vaaniyamkulam, dated 1888, Thalassery Mission School 1911, a Christian Church in 1913, the Mananchira manmade lake and the trade house throw light into the ancient history as well as the culture of Kerala. Most of them were shot in the Malabar region, especially Kozhikode and Malappuram. Some pictures focused on the education sector showing Sunday school, women learning English and Christianity.
After Tharoor shared these pictures, Chandrashekar Sivarama, a Facebook user posted, “It's sad you have to get this info from a foreign university. Let’s start a movement to get these pictures from these foreign universities. We expect Mr. Tharoor to lead this cause.”
The album also shows the pictures of working class society. Men are seen engaged in hard labour while women are seen in household works and in tile factories. Many more interesting photos are available in the digital library of Southern California University.
