In an earlier post, I referenced ‘Ancient Monuments of Kashmir‘ by Ram Chandra Kak, the former Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir (and erstwhile Superintendent of Archaeology) to confirm the provenance of the inscription:

Agar Firdaus bar roy-e zamin ast,
hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast.

While going through his earlier book ‘Photographs of Kashmir Monuments and Antiquities’ published in 1921, I realised that some of the views looked quite familiar. Sure enough, amongst the photographs I have taken during my wanderings in Kashmir, a few were taken while standing at the exact same spot as Ram Chandra Kak’s photographer must have done a hundred years ago.

Here is a selection for your viewing pleasure: