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.
One Response
This photograph of early XX century is Proof of the adage that ” Behind Every Successful Man There is A Woman” – All the womenfolk , except the Bride, are standing at the back of all the menfolk sitting in the chairs in front of the women ! The garments worn by all the persons here cover their body fully unlike the present-day attires of Minis et al that expose the body to the maximum extent. What a transition in apparel from then to now ! This photograph depicts the old order which changed giving place to the new order of the present. A very interesting “antique” , nearly a century old , group photo indeed.