JAIPUR DECO, A COLLECTION OF ARCHIVAL PRINTS BY PRARTHNA SINGH AND THE PALACE ATELIER, TAPS INTO THE PROMISE OF ART DECO.

When Jaipur's Golcha Cinema opened its doors to the public in 1954, it was every bit emblematic of that period in Indian design history.

- TEXT: SRIDEVI NAMBIAR PHOTOS: PRARTHNA SINGH

Blending art deco with traditional Rajasthani design elements, it portrayed a bold, glamorous and modern identity.

Prarthna Singh's photographs capture not only this design identity but more. "What did it mean to go to a theatre in the 1950s?" Singh presents. With a combination of detailed close-ups and wide landscape shots, the images hint at the excitement of the time. "It would have been an outing—a special occasion," she suggests. In one of the prints, a tall wooden standing ashtray is pictured before a backdrop of wooden panelling and carpets. She pictures the life and times then: "When you look at this image, you imagine a gathering of people, all dressed up and hanging around here to have their smokes."