Traditional costume photography lives on in Mussoorie

Mussoorie: 27 July: Tourists here make it a point to stop at “Jhoola Ghar”, here, to get a family picture taken in traditional Garhwali dress or Jaunpuri dress as it is called.
Jaunpur is the region adjacent to Mussoorie in Tehri Garhwal District.
Raj Kumar, the oldest photographer alive today, has a shop at “Jhoola Ghar”. He has clicked thousand of tourists young and old since 1968.
He explains, “Traditional Garhwali dress photography was started 40 years ago in 1968. I began with two dresses then.” Tourists from Gujarat, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, etc., have a special affinity towards these dresses as it is no longer prevalent among the locals.”
He adds that during the early years, they used to sell three copies worth Rs 15 back then. The traditional Garhwali dress comprises “Dhantu - the head gear, Lehnga and Angra”. Rajkumar further adds that during those days, the fabric for the dress was cotton and now chenyl is more prevalent. The raw material comes from Delhi and is stitched locally. The traditional ornaments go along with the dress. The other change that he highlights is that modern dresses and costumes have also made inroads into this work like those of Superman, Spiderman for children. The favourite, however, remains the traditional Garhwali dress.
Rajkumar reminisces that he had in his possession the dress of “Gabbar Singh” that was very popular among tourists during the Sholay era, but nothing beats the traditional Garhwali dress.
Baljeet, a tourist from Bhatinda, Punjab, says that the dresses are colourful and are perfect memorabilia to take back home, which will remain with them for a long time. “It is something ethnic that is full of colours,” he adds.
Narendar Shah, another photographer, is of the view that the photography work per se is on the decline as most of the tourists have digital cameras but the charm for dress still remains among the tourists. “Now we earn through the hire charges per photo which range from Rs 40-50.”
Ravinder, another photographer, adds, “The craze for traditional Garhwali dress will live on, as it is becoming rare due to the change in the dress sense of the locals.”