Forgotten Frames: The Miracle that Rescued Jaipur’s Untold Story, Jaipur 1971 vs 2024

Hey travelers, have you ever thought of ‘what will happen to my travel photos when I die’?

Would you not feel sad if your ‘precious memories’ were abandoned?

This is exactly what happened to an American man named “Bill”. His travel stories & 50+ years-old photos of Jaipur were about to be thrown away. Happily, someone saved all the photos.

But How I got these old pictures of Jaipur? When did Bill come to Jaipur? How did his travel photos survived and reached you?

In today’s story, you will know the answer to all these questions.

Check: Hidden Places in Jaipur

How I got Old Jaipur Photos?

So, one day I was browsing the social media website Reddit. I saw some pictures of Jaipur from 1971 posted by a Reddit member.

Examining the photos, I compared how Jaipur has changed over the past 50 years, while also identifying elements that remain similar between the Jaipur of today and 1971.

I found many changes that have happened in Jaipur such as the dressing of people, vehicles, shops, and many more.

Many things have remained almost intact like the monuments, walled city market, Jaipurite’s friendliness with animals, and many others.

🙏 Sorry to disturb you in the middle.

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A photo comparison between old Jaipur (1971) and new Jaipur (2024) is coming up in this story. Stay tuned!

I wanted to know more about these old Jaipur photos so I contacted the Reddit member “Sergei” who posted these pictures.

After a while, I got his message on Reddit chat and his response made me feel happy and strange at the same time.

Why? I will tell you shortly.

Bill’s Jaipur Arrival

Bill Getting his Picture Clicked in front of Tajmahal, Agra in 1971

So, Sergei told me that these photos of old Jaipur belonged to his distant uncle named “Bill.”

Bill lived in America and used to travel a lot around the world. He came to Jaipur in 1971 and captured the street life of Pink City through his Kodak camera.

Bill was an avid traveler, his street photography shows his keen interest in diverse human life and culture. He captured valuable memories not for himself but for others too.

However, all his precious memories were about to vanish.

Interesting: Weekend Getaways from Jaipur

Bill’s Work Almost Faded into Oblivion

Bill never married and had no kids. After his death, there was no one to take care of his travel photos.

Bill’s relative was about to throw his travel photos but Sergei’s father-in-law saved all of it.

After Sergei’s father-in-law, Sergei took over and saved all the pictures of Bill’s worldwide travel.

Sergei started posting Bill’s Kodak slides on social media websites. So the world can know about Bill’s work.

Thanks to Sergei and his father-in-law otherwise you and I wouldn’t be seeing these 1971’s pictures today.

Read: Khazana Mahal Jaipur

Bill’s Story – Happy and Strange

Earlier I told you Sergei’s response made me feel happy and strange. Why?

It made me happy because I was going to know the story behind these old Pink City photos.

It made me feel strange because Bill’s work was about to be forgotten by the world.

It made me wonder whether your work will be appreciated after your death. Will someone remember you and your story?

Check: Street food in Jaipur

A Photo Comparison Idea Popped Up

Sergei suggested clicking pictures of the same location of Jaipur that Bill clicked in 1971. This way I could create an interesting photo comparison of Pink City in 1971 vs 2024.

All the pictures that Bill clicked were from the walled city of Jaipur also known as ‘Parkota’. So I went there and I tried to find the spots.

Some spots were easy to find like “Hawamahal”. But some were difficult such as “Chunnilal Dawakhana”.

I tried to find as many spots as I could and clicked photos from the same angle.

But I could not find some locations. Probably, those spots have changed a lot, and it is difficult to locate them now.

I will keep trying to locate those areas, if I find them, I will add those to this before vs after list.

Read: Places 200 km Away of Jaipur