This photograph is attributed to the Madras School of Industrial Arts which was an important training centre for photographers in the area, established in 1850. The young girl on the left is wearing the half-sari which is the traditional dress of adolescent girls in the South Indian states. The girl in the centre of the photograph is wearing the jewelled head-dress traditionally worn at marriage ceremonies or at 'rites of passage' ceremonies performed when a girl reaches puberty.
Source: British Library (bl.uk)