[Indian Barber with Clients]

Although the most widely recognized photographers working in 19th-century India were British, many native photographers also helped picture their country. Shivashanker Narayen set up his studio, which became a favorite among the Indian aristocracy, on the premises of the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art in Bombay. He showed his work at British-sponsored and overseas exhibitions, participated in the Archaeological Survey of India between 1868 and 1869, and documented the Calcutta International Exhibition of 1883. This photograph is a quiet image of daily life on the streets as a barber tends to his client.