“The only thing that impressed her was a good education”

Image & Narrative contributed by Sawant Singh, Mumbai This is an image of my grandmother Kanwarani Danesh Kumari photographed in Patiala, Punjab around 1933. She would have been 20 or 21 years old at the time. It was photographed by R.R. Verma, a Photo artist from Cawnpore (Kanpur). Formally, she was addressed as ‘Rajkumari Bibiji […]

The brahmin who built a Silk textiles empire

Image and Narrative contributed by K.S Raghavan, Chennai My great grandfather, Sri Krishnaswamy Iyengar hailed from a humble Brahmin family of Kausika Gothra (clan) belonging to SamaVeda Shakha (branch) at Manalur in Tanjavur district. The family migrated to a near by village called Tirubuvanam on the banks of River Veera Cholan looking for greener pastures. […]