
HELLO & GOODBYE: POSTCARDS FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY
Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century, presented by Museum of
80 cards from its extensive collection of around 1300, primarily donated by South
Indian subcontinent through the medium of postcards.
The exhibition highlighted how postcards emerged as a distinctive mode of communication – not only through written messages but also through their rich visual imagery. These postcards served as informal yet powerful carriers of ideas, opinions, and conversations across borders and communities. Hello & Goodbye
from across the subcontinent.
The postcards on display revealed a complex visual language centered around monumental buildings, mythical deities and the life of people. Many of these postcards were produced by Western printing presses and adopted by the Indian
capturing landscapes, monuments, and ethnographic documentation through a colonial gaze.
perceptions, outlooks, and a rising tide of nationalist sentiment.
Visitors to Hello & Goodbye experienced a slice of early 20th- century history and perception through these versatile postcards.






The exhibition encouraged interaction by allowing visitors not only to write and send postcards but also to digitally create their own, inspired by the collection.




View original pages, photographs & credits




Originally published in Museum Mosaic 2024, published May 2025.
Part of our annual review. Descriptions reflect the publication’s reporting period.



