These negatives are a part of over 220 rare images, which includes waxed-paper negatives of the first ever photographs clicked of the Taj Mahal and the Vijayanagara empire, that are currently on exhibit here.
"The exhibition has the first ever photo negatives of the Taj, which I understand is also being shown for the first time in India. These negatives were studied by historian Abha Kaul who discovered the 50 Mughal gardens between Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort," says Dipali Khanna, Member Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
Sourced from collection of a leading photography archive, the Alkazi Foundation, the display unveiled here late last evening is scheduled to go on till Septemeber 30.
Segmented into two categories - 'Bastions, Borders and Bridges' comprising landscape photographs and 'Statuesque Enthrallment' comprising portraitures - the display has been selected from a collection of 90,000 vintage photographs.
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The show has also pictures by a list of firsts.
There are photographs by Felice Beato, one of the first war photographers, Raja Deen Dayal, the first Indian court photographer and John Murray, the first photographer of Taj Mahal.
The exhibition, says Allana, "attempts to engage in academic pursuit of the idea of an archive and study how objects become repositories of meaning and power over the course of time."
Vintage pictures of the Bombay Harbor, the streets of Burra Bazar and hotels in Calcutta, horse drawn tram cars in Bombay's Bhendi Bazar and of coolies in Madras show the making of modern Indian metropolis.