Photograph of Rajasthan around 1920

Alwar (Rajasthan) circa 1920, Chiranjilal & Sons studio, studio stamp on the back. Vintage silver print on Agfa Brovira paper depicting a group in front of a tazzia. The figure standing on the left, wearing a turban, is Maharajah Jai Singh, who ruled Alwar at the time of the photograph. Tazzias are ephemeral structures mounted on a lightweight structure, usually made of bamboo, an ancient tradition that is still very much alive today. Each district builds its own model, which will compete with the others in a parade through the city during Muharram, the Shiite festival in the first month of the Muslim calendar.