Bringing back memories of an iconic studio through a photo project

His second son G Kumaravel took charge of the studio and renamed it GK Vale & Co and opened the iconic studio at Mount Road in 1910. Sabita has launched a photo project where she is virtually collecting old photographs taken at GK Vale studio. “This is going to be a lovely exercise where people can reminisce moments from the past. Many seniors might be wondering what to do during the lockdown. If you have any photos taken at GK Vale & Co, click them on your mobile camera and share them on the social media page that I have created for the project. Each of you can post one or two black and white photos which have the signature logo of the studio on the corner. Even if the photos don’t have a signature at the corner it is okay. Along with the photographs, you have to mention the names of the people in the photo, and probably, the year in which it was taken. I am sure everyone will have a collection of old photographs. I am waiting to see those old photographs taken decades ago,” says Sabita Radhakrishna about the photo project.

A well-known face in the city, 78-year-old Sabita has a lot of good memories associated with the iconic studio. “My uncle changed his name from G Kumaravel to GK Vale. When I was a kid, I used to visit his studio on Mount Road. I loved going there just to see all the beautiful black and white photographs. The studio had pictures of many celebrities, ministers and politicians. My uncle was also a special photographer for Travancore Maharaja. Unlike colour photographs, black and white photos have a unique feature -- it brings out the character and mood of the person. Taking photographs from a studio was an exciting activity for many during that period. There used to be long queues at GK Vale & Co. Most of the homes in Chennai had photographs taken from this iconic studio. I hope this photo project will engage many to an extent during the lockdown,” she smiles and signs off.