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Mahatta Studio Chronicles Delhi’s Photographic Revolution Across Four Generations
Mahatta is a family photography business in Delhi.
The family started taking and selling photographs in 1915 in Srinagar.
They opened their Connaught Place studio in 1948.
Over time, they photographed people, places, and changes in the city.
Their pictures include old scenes that have disappeared, such as public phone booths.
The studio has used many kinds of cameras, from glass plate cameras to digital equipment.
Pavan Mehta has collected almost 900 cameras.
The family says staying patient and adapting to new technology helped the business survive for generations.
Mahatta & Co. opened in Connaught Place in 1948 after the family began its photography business in Srinagar in 1915.
The Mehta family expanded across Kashmir and parts of present-day Pakistan before Partition.
The family became Kodak’s only sales agents in the region in 1921 and photographed Maharaja Hari Singh.
Mahatta’s photographs documented changing Delhi, including a public phone booth and the flooding of Connaught Place in 1970.
The fourth-generation business has adapted from glass plates and film to digital photography and generative artificial intelligence.
- Who
- The Mehta family, including Pavan, Pankaj, Madan, and Arjun Mehta, runs Mahatta & Co.
- What
- Mahatta & Co. is a long-running photography studio and store that has documented changes in photography and Delhi.
- Where
- The business began in Srinagar and expanded across Kashmir and parts of present-day Pakistan before continuing in Connaught Place, Delhi.
- When
- The family business began in 1915, and its Connaught Place studio opened in 1948; Madan Mahatta photographed flooded Connaught Place in 1970.
- Why
- The family continued by adapting to technological changes while preserving its focus on photography and recording memories.
Key facts
- Family business founded
- 1915, in Srinagar
- Connaught Place studio opened
- 1948
- Kodak agency
- The Mehtas became Kodak’s only sales agents in the region in 1921.
- Business generation
- The business is now in its fourth generation.
- Pavan Mehta’s camera collection
- Almost 900 cameras
- Documented event
- Madan Mahatta photographed flooded Connaught Place from the studio in 1970.
- Historic role
- Before Partition, the family were official photographers to Hari Singh, the last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
Quotes
Pankaj Mehta
Pavan Mehta’s younger brother and a member of the Mehta family business.
“Photography is about being at the right place at the right time. When we started out with taking photos, we had to create a frame in our head before capturing a shot…unlike today.”
indianexpress.com
“Two years ago, while on a visit to Thailand, we visited this camera warehouse, which we had found on Instagram. We spent six hours there looking for cameras.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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