The Camera

In the mid-nineties, on a foggy winter morning I along with my wife arrived at Amritsar. We wanted to visit the Golden Temple and Wagah border gate closing ceremony. I was working in Indian Air Force and was moving on transfer from my place of posting at Srinagar. Before joining in my next place of posting at Air Force station, Bagdogra, we had decided to visit the Golden Temple.

Upon reaching Amritsar, we directly went to the Golden Temple. There were free lodge and board facilities. The temple authorities, upon my request, issued us a room within the temple premises for our stay at Guru Ramdas Niwas, behind the temple. The temple langar (Food outlet run by volunteers) provided free food to all devotees.

When we started to visit various parts of the temple, we realized that we could have some photographs of us taken by a professional photographer as souvenir. Later, we could share those photos to our friends, relatives and we could keep in our album to cherish the memories of our visit to the temple. So we went out of the temple premises to search for a photography studio. Fortunately, we could locate a studio nearby where I happened to see the peculiar billboard.

The small billboard was displayed behind the seat of the photo shop owner which showed a figure 444-166-276-2. This was similar to a test cricket bowling statistics. In cricket a bowling figure is described in numbers with dashes in a typical order viz., Number of over's bowled - Maiden over's – Runs conceded by the bowler – Number of wickets taken by him.

On a closer scrutiny I realized that this could not be a cricket match bowling figure! Being a cricket buff, I knew that in the tests played till date, the record of the highest number of over's bowled in a test was held by Ramadhin (98 over's) of West Indies in the Birmingham Test against MCC (England) in 1957.

However suddenly my sixth sense alerted me as I realized that my wife would not appreciate any outburst on cricket statistics in a photography studio and my enthusiastic discussion on cricket with the shop owner at this juncture would inevitably invite an impromptu vitriolic remark from her. That would certainly spoil my mood immediately. So I decided to refrain from making any further inquiry on the figure keeping my curiosity under the wrap till the time was right to inquire about it.

I asked the gentleman to depute a photographer to shoot some photographs in the permitted areas of Golden Temple. The middle aged owner smiled and told us, "I myself would have happily shoot photos for you, but my assistant has gone to his village and being alone in the shop, I am not able to leave the shop."

He then looked at our disappointed faces and with a twinkle of smile in the corner of his lips and eyes he said, "But there is one thing that we can do."

I looked at him with interest. He further added, "I can give you a hotshot camera on loan. You have to buy only the film roll. And, I am sure you would be visiting Atari border too? Once you are visiting Attari border, you could leisurely exhaust the roll and bring back the camera to me. I would remove the roll and take back the camera. You can get the photos developed at your place later. How does the idea sound?"

This was really a good solution. For a fraction of the cost, we could now take a lot of photographs. My wife gave a nod of approval and I immediately agreed. I proceeded to pay him Rs. 95 for the roll. He took the money and brought out a brand new hotshot fixed focus camera from the show case, unpacked it, put on the roll inside the camera and handed over me the camera. The price tag of the camera showed that it was priced at Rs.700. We left the shop with the camera.

That day we unhurriedly visited various parts of the temple and took photographs wherever photography was allowed. We visited Amrit Sarovar, Harmandir Saheb, Akal Takht and the museum. Our plan was to visit local places of interest in the forenoon the next day followed by India Pakistan border at Attari in the afternoon.

Throughout that day I felt an itch in my mind, there was something wrong, a feeling of some unfinished task. I knew something was pending. However I was not able to pinpoint the task and ultimately I gave up recollecting it.

The next day we visited Ram Tirath, Mata temple, Jallianwala bag and proceeded to Attari border in a shared taxi in the afternoon. Lot of enthusiastic visitors attended the ceremony and after witnessing the border closing ceremony, we started back for Amritsar.

When we were about to get down the taxi, suddenly I looked at the camera in my wife's hand and the realization came! The photography studio owner had not taken any caution deposit against the camera! We could just leave Amritsar without visiting his shop and he could do nothing. I concluded that this man was a fool to have trusted an unknown couple and gave us the camera without any security deposit. But I was not like others; I would certainly go back and return him the camera.

I told my wife that, instead of going to our room we would first go to the studio and hand over the camera. She agreed and we started to walk to the studio. The shop was open and the fellow was sitting alone. It appeared that his assistant had not returned from his village.

I told him, "Sir, we have taken photographs. It was indeed very nice of you to have lent the camera without any deposit. Now may I request you to kindly take back your camera.''

The man smiled at us and silently proceeded to remove the roll from the camera.

Then I asked him, "Sir, the statistics in the billboard is surely not a test bowling figure, is not it?

"No, it is not," he replied.

I said, "If I am correct, Ramadhin could bowl only 98 over's and that record still stands as the maximum number of over's bowled by a bowler in a test match innings".

By this time the shop owner had already removed the roll. He spoke nothing but smiled. Suddenly I felt the price of the camera was within our budget. In a low voice I discussed with my wife if we could buy this camera. She too liked it when she gave a consensual nod, I asked the owner, "How much the camera would cost"?

In a pleasant voice he replied, "I would charge you five hundred Rupees."

My wife agreed. I informed him of our decision to purchase the camera and I proceeded to pay him. The shop owner now took out a marker and modified the statistics as 445-166-277-2. Now I was perplexed and to get to the truth I bluntly asked him to explain the statistics. He again smiled and started talking, "This shop was opened by my father in 1982 during Delhi Asian Games. Till date we have lent 445 cameras to the unknown visitors of the temple without any security deposit. 166 persons duly returned the cameras after using them. 277 persons subsequently bought the camera on the conclusion of their visit. When you bought this camera, one number has just now been added to the first and the third figure.

When he missed to explain the last figure, I became impatient and asked him, "What about the last figure 2"?

"All but the two cameras that were taken by visitors on loan, without submission of any caution deposit, were duly returned. In fact 277 persons bought the cameras later like you did. These are the two cameras, which were taken by two families during the first week of the month of June in 1984. Those cameras were never returned," he replied calmly.

Prior to my visit I had read about the Golden Temple. It took me a few moments to co-relate his statement and realize the implication. Now he slowly took out two medium sized candles from his drawer, pointed us to the candle stand which was kept near a portrait of Sikh Guru Nanak and gestured us to light the candles.

I calmly went to my wife and asked her to accompany me. As we lighted the two candles, my perplexed wife asked me in a whispering voice, "What actually happened in the first week of June '84?"

In a hushed tone I replied, "Operation Blue Star."

My wife suddenly shivered and became stiff. Without uttering any word we lighted the candles, I returned the shop owner his match box, shook his hand and silently started to leave the shop with our newly acquired camera. With a sad smile he raised his hand to bid us goodbye.