Raja Lala Deen Dayal (; 1844–1905; also written as 'Din Dyal' and 'Diyal' in his early years), famously known as Raja Deen Dayal) was an Indian photographer. His career began in the mid-1870s as a commissioned photographer; eventually he set up studios in Indore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. He became the court photographer to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad,

Mahbub Ali Khan, Asif Jah VI Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911. Early life Mahb ...

, who awarded him the title Raja Bahadur Musavvir Jung Bahadur, and he was appointed as the photographer to the Viceroy of India in 1885. He received the

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

from Queen Victoria in 1897.

Early life and education

Deen Dayal was born in

Sardhana Sardhana is a city and a municipal board in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is northeast of New Delhi and 13 mi from Meerut. It is 5 km from Meerut Karnal National Highway and 12 km from National Highway 5 ...

, Uttar Pradesh, near Meerut in a family of jewellers. He received technical training at

Thomason College of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Bri ...

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The c ...

(now IIT Roorkee) in 1866 as an engineer in lower subordinate class.

Career

In 1866, Deen Dayal entered government service as head estimator and draughtsman in the Department of Works Secretariat Office in Indore. Meanwhile, he took up photography. His first patron in Indore was Maharaja Tukoji Rao II of Indore state, who in turn introduced him to Sir

Henry Daly General Sir Henry Dermot Daly (25 October 1823 – 21 July 1895) was a senior British Indian Army officer, colonial administrator, Liberal Unionist politician and founder of Daly College. Biography Daly was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Fran ...

, agent to the Governor General for

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

(1871–1881) and the founder of

Daly College The Daly College is a co-educational residential and day boarding school located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was founded by Sir Henry Daly of the British Indian Army during India's colonial British Raj, following an English public sch ...

, who encouraged his work, along with the Maharaja himself who encouraged him to set up his studio in Indore. Soon he was getting commissions from Maharajas and the British Raj. The following year he was commissioned to photograph the governor general's tour of Central India. In 1868, Deen Dayal founded his studio – Lala Deen Dayal & Sons – and was subsequently commissioned to photograph temples and palaces of India. He established studios in Indore (Mid 1870s), Secunderabad (1886) and Bombay (1896). In 1875–76, Deen Dayal photographed the Royal Tour of the Prince and

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was firs ...

. In the early 1880s he travelled with

Sir Lepel Griffin Sir Lepel Henry Griffin, (20 July 1838 – 9 March 1908) was a British administrator and diplomat during the British Raj period in India. He was also a writer. Early life Lepel Henry Griffin was born in Watford, England on 20 July 1838. ...

through

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

, photographing the ancient architecture of the region. Griffin commissioned him to do archaeological photographs: The result was a portfolio of 86 photographs, known as "Famous Monuments of Central India". The next year he retired from government service and concentrated on his career as a professional photographer. Deen Dayal became the court photographer to the sixth

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

in 1885. Soon afterward he moved from Indore to Hyderabad. In the same year he was appointed as the photographer to the Viceroy of India. In time, the

conferred the honorary title of '' Raja'' upon him. It was at this time that Dayal created the firm Raja Deen Dayal & Sons in Hyderabad. Deen Dayal was appointed photographer to Queen Victoria in 1897. In 1905–1906, Raja Deen Dayal accompanied the Royal Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Legacy

The Lala Deen Dayal studios' collection of 2,857 glass plate negatives was bought by the

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture (India), Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Ga ...

(

IGNCA Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National centre for arts ...

), New Delhi in 1989. Today it is the largest repository of his work. A large collection including celebrated images of the 1870s' famine are with the Peabody Essex Museum, US and the Alkazi collection in Delhi. In 2010, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at IGNCA, curated by

Jyotindra Jain Jyotindra Jain (born 5 June 1943) is an Indian art and cultural historian, and museologist. A scholar on folk and ritual arts of India, he was the Director of the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, Member Secretary and Professor (Cultural Archiv ...

. In 2006, a curated collection of Raja Deen Dayal's photographs was exhibited at the

Salar Jung Museum The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located at Dar-ul-Shifa, on the southern bank of the Musi River, India, Musi River in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the List of museums in India, notable National Museums of India. ...

during the Times Hyderabad Festival; subsequently in November, the Ministry of Communications, Department of Posts released a commemorative stamp honouring him; the ceremony was held at

Jubilee Hall A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

, Hyderabad.

Gallery

Photographs taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s, sourced from the British Library, George Curzon's Collection: ''Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892''. Image: Entrance bridge to Hyderabad, India.JPG, Purana Pul, Hyderabad Image:Bashir-bagh Palace, Hyderabad, India.JPG,

Bashir Bagh Palace Basheer Bagh Palace or Bashir Bagh Palace was a palace located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was constructed by Sir Asman Jah, a Paigah noble and Prime Minister of Hyderabad state (1887–1894). History It was once a palace with grea ...

, Hyderabad Image:The interior of Bashir-bagh Palace, Hyderabad, India.JPG, The interior of the Basir-bagh Palace Image:Drawing Room of Chowmahela Palace, Hyderabad, India.JPG, Drawing Room of Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad Image:Faluk-numa Palace, Hyderabad, India.JPG, A distant view of the Falaknuma Palace from an opposite hillside, taken by in the 1880s Image:Residency House Bolarum.jpg,

Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilayam (literally the "President's House") formerly known as Residency House is the official retreat of the President of India located in Hyderabad, Telangana, where the President stays for at least two weeks during winter and condu ...

, Hyderabad, then Residency House circa 1892

Notes

References

*
Canadian Centre for Architecture; Collections Online, s.v. “Dayal, Lala Deen”
cited 18 August 2006. * *
Union List of Artist Names, s.v. "Dayal, Lala Deen"
cited 18 August 2006.

External links

* *

Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayal, Lala Deen 1844 births 1905 deaths Pioneers of photography People from Meerut district Indian nature photographers 19th-century Indian photographers Photography in India Photographers from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian photographers Architectural photographers Indian portrait photographers