H.H. the Maha Raja's State Car [Trivandrum]--Photographer: D'Cruz, Zachariah Medium: Photographic print Date: 1900

SEE THE PEOPLE OF TRAVANCORE LINED UP IN THE BACKGROUND/MOSTLY POOR/ALL WITH THE HEAD DRESS /ALL IN WHITE DHOTI=MUNDU(BECAUSE COLORED LUNGI CAME AFTER 2 ND WORLD WAR WITH SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM BURMA=MYANMAR)= ALSO NOTICE ALL WHITE MUNDU ARE DOWN=UP TO THE ANKLE(FOLDING MUNDU UP FASHION CAME IN 1947- AFTER FEAR OF MAHARAJA DISAPPEARED))
PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO PUT THE RIGHT HAND AND COVER MOUTH AS A WAY TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE THE DUTIFUL = as a sign of absolute subservience. [1]

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Photograph taken about 1900 by the Government photographer, Zacharias D'Cruz of the Travancore Maharaja's State Carriage in Trivandrum. It is one of 76 prints in an album entitled 'Album of South Indian Views' of the Curzon Collection. George Nathaniel Curzon was Under Secretary of State at the Foreign Office between 1895-98 and Viceroy of India between 1898-1905. It was drawn by a team of si
x horses. In the background can be seen the gopuram of the Padmanabha Swamy temple.

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AI Overview

Under the caste hierarchy in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore, lower-caste individuals were forced to put their hand over their mouth when speaking to upper-caste lords or royals to prevent their breath from "polluting" the higher-caste person. [1, 2]

This practice was a deeply institutionalized gesture of extreme humility, submission, and social distance forced upon oppressed communities. According to rigid feudal customs: [1]

Preventing Spiritual Pollution: The breath of lower-caste individuals was considered physically and spiritually polluting to Brahmins, Nairs, and royalty. Covering the mouth ensured that exhaled air or saliva particles would not travel toward the upper-caste listener. [1]
Forbidden Eye Contact: Lower-caste individuals were also forbidden from looking directly into the faces of their masters while speaking. They had to bow low, keep their eyes downcast, and cover their mouths as a sign of absolute subservience. [1]

This custom was part of a larger, highly oppressive system of caste-based regulations in Travancore that controlled every aspect of lower-caste life—including strict rules baring them from covering their upper bodies and forcing them to pay degrading taxes like the Mulakkaram (breast tax) and Thalakaram (head tax). [1, 2]