Old cameras
Ghias's poignant article on Nurul Islam's historic century old pin-hole camera, brings back the memories of my photographic days in Dhaka in the 1950s, that started during my school days in Calcutta in 1945! In those days I was the helper to my uncle (Late) Prof. Kazem Ali of BUET. He was a photography bug; having a number of cameras, and his own darkroom in Calcutta. There he used to develop, print and enlarge still films. I was the keen willing helper, learning the fundamentals of the trade from him! It was a wonderful pastime for me which kept me in the house most of the time.
He gifted me my first camera in 1944 a Coronet Midget camera using 8 or 16mm films; the size I do not exactly remember. It was a typical fist sized mini camera. My uncle gave my films for it; printed and developed all my photographs; meanwhile explaining to me the scientific ideas about light's properties which I remember even today! It was an excellent science tutorial! Small wonder that I ended up as an engineer from Ahsanullah Engineering College!
After partition in 1946, I matriculated from Chittagong, and got my fist regular camera, a Baby Browny, which used up all my pocket money in films, developing and printing; as my uncle was in UK then for postgraduate studies in engineering. Later, when I went to the Engineering College in Dhaka, and my uncle returned from abroad and joined there, he gave me an AgfaIsolex f4.5 lens camera, which was with me till the late 1960s. In the late 1950s when I was in Dhaka, I still remember a number of professional photographers with pin-hole cameras working opposite the press club premises. Located there was Zaidi Photographers, a photo studio right opposite the secretariat gate; where I used to often develop and print my films.
I firmly believe that our museum authorities should arrange with Nurul Islam to purchase his camera as and when he retires and no longer uses his one hundred years old camera. The amount should be handsome, so that Nurul Islam can retire with some financial security at the end of his career.
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