Hi Ananya, I have some thoughts on the photo. I worked to renovate Widener A from 2015–2016 and also took an interest in understanding it.
At the time, I did a Google image search of it. That brought me to the website of the Kerala Folklore Museum, which had an identical black-and-white item (attached) as one of many such photographs. The old version of that website which had these photos is available on Wayback (2017 grab) <https://web.archive.org/web/20171030152248/http://keralafolkloremuseum.org/anthraGallerys.php?id=21> but unfortunately no longer serves the images. The new version of https://keralafolkloremuseum.org <http://keralafolkloremuseum.org> (created in 2018 as far as I know) does not have this photo collection at all. My meager understanding of the museum is that nearly all items, including the photos, were collected by the founder George J. Thaliath. More importantly, I think these kinds of photographs in those days were not always genuinely representing real scenes. Instead, actors were often hired and posed with props. My guess is that this is one of those types of photos—which is to say, not necessarily real teachers in any way—and that there were many copies, and that (perhaps) Lanman himself purchased one of these photos as a keepsake during his trip to Maharashtra in 1889. Thaliath then obtained his own copy through whatever means. Again, just an educated guess. The museum is on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/folkloremuseumcochin. You may be able to get in touch with them to find out more. Best regards, Tyler On Wed, Jul 16, 2025 at 8:00 AM <[email protected]> wrote: > Send INDOLOGY mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of INDOLOGY digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Proceedings of Computational Sanskrit and Digital Humanities > - WSC Kathmandu, 2025 (Amba Kulkarni) > 2. Query regarding a photograph (Ananya Vajpeyi) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Amba Kulkarni <[email protected]> > To: [email protected], [email protected] > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2025 18:46:20 +0530 > Subject: [INDOLOGY] Proceedings of Computational Sanskrit and Digital > Humanities - WSC Kathmandu, 2025 > Dear list, > > We are pleased to announce the online publication of the proceedings of > the "Computational Sanskrit and Digital Humanities" section at WSC, > Kathmandu at https://aclanthology.org/volumes/2025.wsc-csdh/ > > > Best, > Amba Kulkarni & Oliver Hellwig > > > -- > > आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत: ll > Let noble thoughts come to us from every side. > - Rig Veda, I-89-i. > > Sr. Professor & Head > Department of Sanskrit Studies > University of Hyderabad > Prof. C.R. Rao Road > Hyderabad-500 046 > > (91) 040 23133802(off) > > http://scl.samsaadhanii.in <http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/faculty/amba> > http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/scl > http://tdil-dc.in/san/ > http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/faculty/amba > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Ananya Vajpeyi <[email protected]> > To: Indology <[email protected]> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:01:36 +0530 > Subject: [INDOLOGY] Query regarding a photograph > Dear List Members, > > Attached is a photograph that is kept in Room A of Widener Library, at > Harvard. This is a room with Sanskrit materials: > > https://sas.fas.harvard.edu/sanskrit-library-widener-library-room-a/ > > We know nothing about this photo -- who took it, why, when, where -- > nothing. Just that a piece of paper used to line the frame is newsprint > from The Boston Traveler, Saturday, May 22, 1897. > > I realize many of you would have used Room A and have probably seen this > photo at some point. > > Any information about it that you might have would be very helpful, > thanks! > > Best, > > Ananya. > -- > > *Ananya Vajpeyi * > *Professor * > *Centre for the Study of Developing Societies* > *29 Rajpur Rd., Civil Lines* > *New Delhi 110054, INDIA* > *EMAIL: [email protected] <[email protected]>* > *CSDS BIO: **https://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi* > <https://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi> > *RESEARCH PROJECT: https://www.nilgiri.ugent.be/team/ > <https://www.nilgiri.ugent.be/team/>* > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
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