My first colour film roll

S Balakrishnan *

I clearly remember the Drugpa Tsezhi day (Lord Buddha's first preaching of the "Noble Truths" at the deer park in Sarnath) of 1983 (14th July). Because it was on that day, almost 40 years ago, that I first started using colour photo film roll. Incidentally, my last B&W film roll was also exposed in Sikkim only.

I had arrived in Gangtok a few months earlier (May, to be specific) with a half exposed B&W roll in my camera (Yashica Electro 35, bought just a year ago for Rs 2150 in Cuttack, Orissa, from where I was packed off to the Himalayan Sikkim). Within a few days of my arrival in Gangtok, it was Saga Dawa day (Tibetan Buddha Poomima) on May 26, 1983.

I was quite excited but what I had in my camera was the left over B&W roll. How could I afford to throw away that and replace it with a colour roll ? So my first shoot in Sikkim was with B&W roll on the auspicious Saga Dawa day. Watching that colourful procession I decided then & there that henceforth it would be colour roll only.

The first colour roll that I bought from Fotomatics Studio was Agfa; it cost 70 rupees, more than double the price of a B&W roll (Rs 28). It was with much excitement that I got up early on that morning but to my disappointment it was raining and highly foggy. Despite the depressing weather I started climbing down all the way from my room at Thathangchen to Chorten (Stupa) at Deorali — a good distance of almost 4 kms.

A few Lamas, including a little Lama, were seeking alms sitting by the pathway to the Chorten. The little Lama later bought some eatables from a mother-and-daughter vendor who had come prepared with an umbrella like the Lamas. While generally the Lamas are with clean shaved head, I was surprised to note one of these Lamas with long, matted hair that was also knotted like a crown.

The devotees unfailingly offered them alms, probably hoping that such a good deed on that auspicious Drukpa Tsheshi day would earn rewards in the life after death ! Well, it is hope that keeps us moving ahead in our life. As I climbed further up I saw the massive white Stupa surrounded on all the four sides by a perimeter of rolling prayer wheels. Because of the rain there were only a few devotees.

A Fiat taxi and an Ambassador car were waiting there to pick up the devotees. These brand cars are now museum pieces, I suppose ! Devotees were faithfully rotating the prayer wheels with one hand while the other hand held either their own prayer wheel or a rosary. I could hear them muttering the mantras as well. Two elderly lady devotees with a prayer wheel and rosary each in their hands attracted my camera eye.

This is one of my favourite clicks. Out of the five snaps that I took on that occasion, only this turned out to be okay; because of the foggy weather the other four turned out to be unclear, exposing my inexperience in such a weather situation.

I was there from 8 to 10.30 am but there was not much action to click Blaming the weather, I went straight to my office (PIB) that was initially located on the Raj Bhavan hillock. The thought of climbing all the way up, up & up from the downhill Deorali was so disheartening.

I used the rest of the first colour roll to cover the event of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, formally inaugurating the renamed Natula Road as Jawaharlal Nehru Marg by opening the name board at Zero Point. Then I covered the Independence Day at Paljor Stadium and later the Pang Lhabsol festivity at Tsuklakhang Monastery.

I could not afford to print copies of all the exposed 38 snaps; I had to be just satisfied with the developed roll (negatives) for which I paid 20 rupees. I always managed to click 2 or 3 snaps more than the prescribed & marked 36 numbers. Because of my photography passion, I frequented Fotomatics Studio and had become friendly with Mr SS Pillai, the proprietor.

He was a Malayalee (Keralite), settled down in Gangtok after marrying a local Nepali woman. Beginning from that Drukpa Tsheshi day, I went wild clicking colour photos all throughout my 5 1/2 years of stay in Sikkim. A total of 1,100 colour snaps, including in Kathmandu & Darjeeling, all treasures of life in Sikkim 40 years ago.

This must have cost me around 8,000 rupees which was four times my meager monthly salary of 1900 rupees in 1987 ! I was a bit late in digitising these negatives; so some were beyond retrieval. Visiting Sikkim 25 years later in 2014, I went wild again, clicking this time with digital & cell phone camera.

As this was quite inexpensive compared to film rolls, I must have again easily clicked about 1,000 snaps during the just week-long trip in Sikkim & Darjeeling. So much for the technical advancement !