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South India

A journey through the temples of Tamil Nadu via Kerala to spectacular ceremonies and processions in Mysuru and Hyderabad.

In Tamil Nadu we watch Chennai’s remarkable temple car festival in 1932, see an extraordinary early colour film shot near Puducherry in 1914 and explore the temple architecture of Madurai. There’s colour footage of dancers in Thiruvananthapuram, a visit to the Jewish quarter of Kochi before heading north to watch spectacular processions in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The collection includes films from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

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Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry)Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry)

Travelogue19144 minsSilent

Gorgeously dreamlike colour images of (then) French India – present-day Puducherry

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Uti 1925Uti 1925

Amateur film192515 minsSilent

Snapshots of colonial life around Tamil Nadu, plus a visit to the Toda tribe

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Sir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & CeylonSir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & Ceylon

Amateur film194718 minsSilent

Rare amateur footage of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

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Houseboating in WaltairHouseboating in Waltair

Amateur film192613 minsSilent

The Uzielli family takes to the water in Visakhapatnam, southern India

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Dancers at Trivandrum GopinathDancers at Trivandrum Gopinath

Amateur film19467 minsSilent

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath, filmed in remarkable colour by ‘envoy of the Raj’ Clarmont Skrine

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Cochin and MalaraxCochin and Malarax

Amateur film193018 minsSilent

Amateur film capturing life and buildings in and around Kochi, in Kerala, south-west India.

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Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1

Amateur film19359 minsSilent

From the arrival of a new viceroy to street markets, this amateur film captures the diversity of life in colonial India

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A Day at St. Christopher College and School (Madurai)A Day at St. Christopher College and School (Madurai)

Documentary192018 minsSilent

Behind the scenes at a Chennai teachers training college

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Through Fires of PersecutionThrough Fires of Persecution

Documentary drama193520 minsSilent

A highly unusual docudrama, set in Tiruchirappalli, South India and filmed by a Methodist minister.

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Mysore - Farming Scenes, Dussehra Festival and Mysore ZooMysore - Farming Scenes, Dussehra Festival and Mysore Zoo

Amateur film194016 minsSilent

Two sides of Mysore (now Mysuru): down to earth with the field workers and an Indian spectacle for the Maharaja

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Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Madras. Bangalore, Mysore and HyderabadEdward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Madras. Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad

Travelogue192218 minsSilent

This official travelogue of a royal tour follows the Prince on a series of regimental displays and a tiger hunt.

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Temples of IndiaTemples of India

Travelogue193810 mins

Technicolor temple tour shot by the great Jack Cardiff

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An Indian ScrapbookAn Indian Scrapbook

Documentary194111 mins

Film star Sabu fronts this novelty travelogue.

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Temples of South IndiaTemples of South India

Travelogue19447 mins

South India's extraordinary 16th century Meenakshi temple town in Madurai, seat of an ancient civilisation

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Fighting Leprosy in India The Work of DichpaliFighting Leprosy in India The Work of Dichpali

Documentary194515 minsSilent

The work of southern India’s remarkable lepers' home, founded by Dr Isabel Kerr

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Madras Mylapore - Tank and Religious ProcessionsMadras Mylapore - Tank and Religious Processions

Amateur film193210 minsSilent

The thronging streets of Chennai in festive mood are captured by this lively amateur film

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Chief Guide at Hyderabad RallyChief Guide at Hyderabad Rally

Amateur film19372 minsSilent

Girl guides on parade at a rally in southern India attended by Olave Baden-Powell

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The Work of the LMS in the Ministry of Healing. Scenes in Neyyoor. No.16The Work of the LMS in the Ministry of Healing. Scenes in Neyyoor. No.16

Documentary15 minsSilent

The medical work of the London Missionary Society in various parts of India, Madagascar and elsewhere

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Madras: The Grange, AdyarMadras: The Grange, Adyar

Amateur film192918 minsSilent

Amateur film of colonial Madras (now Chennai)

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Our Greatest AmbassadorOur Greatest Ambassador

Non-Fiction192233 minsSilent

Richly detailed record of the Prince of Wales' Indian tour, 1921-22.

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Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.1Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.1

Amateur film19294 minsSilent

Graphic images of the Muslim sect’s self-mutilation practices, filmed in late-1920s India.

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Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.2Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.2

Amateur film19293 minsSilent

More glimpses of the Muslim sect’s self-mutilation practices, filmed in late-1920s India

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Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.3Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.3

Amateur film19303 minsSilent

Further scenes of the Muslim sect’s self-mutilation practices, filmed in late-1920s India

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Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.4Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.4

Amateur film19303 minsSilent

Last of a series of films graphically depicting the Muslim sect’s self-mutilation practices in late-1920s India

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India RubberIndia Rubber

Documentary194411 mins

WWII propaganda film about natural rubber production in Travancore, southern India

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Hyderabad - CochinHyderabad - Cochin

Amateur film194515 minsSilent

A whistle-stop tour of Southern India by plane documenting life from Hyderabad, Mysore and down to the coastal town of Cochin.