Beyond Photographs: Sensibilities of Ḥaḍramī-Arab Everyday Visualities in Hyderabad, India

In this article, I examine the everyday visualities of the Ḥaḍramī-Arabs, a prominent diasporic community in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana in southern India. While photographs often dominate reconstructions of intergenerational memory in diasporic communities, I focus on material objects as the Ḥaḍramī migration predated photography and access was limited. These objects, associated with homeland remembrance, extend their role beyond memory preservation. Through the four sensibilities of melancholy, sacredness, forgetfulness and hope, I discuss how these material objects, including photographs, shape everyday visualities for the Ḥaḍramī-Arabs. I further argue that visuality need not be confined to the eyes or to structured media objects like photographs, it can emerge through extensions of these sensibilities, expressed as a tear, a sigh or a whispered prayer. I locate the significance of the community’s material memories in the context of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which systematically affects Muslim belonging under India’s Hindutva government.