SMILE PLEASE
“Anu! Hurry up. The studio will close at 8 p m and you are still not dressed for our family picture.”
“How can I be ready on time when the kids are running wild all over the place? All three of them are fighting to get into the bathroom to shower first after coming back from the park. The girls are driving me crazy with their requests for my compact and lipstick and Yash is insisting on wearing his favorite but faded t shirt for the picture. I am certain we didn’t trouble our parents so much when we were 10 and 12 years old.”
“How can you be so sure, my dear? Let’s ask your parents next time we visit them.”
“Amit, don’t mock me. I am tired of running around pacifying the little warriors .They do know they are related and on the same team, right?”
“You relax and let me help the kids get ready.”
After almost an hour, the Mehra family scrambled out of their house and made a beeline for the BEST bus that would take them to the photo studio near Nariman point. The distance from their home in Colaba to Nariman Point wasn’t much and Amit hoped to reach the studio in time for their picture.
Pic credit Pixabay
NOSTALGIA
In those days, I am talking about the seventies, there used to be a handful of studios where the professional photographers clicked pictures on their bulky cameras after adjusting the lights, camera and the wooden benches in their studios. Their instructions sounded something like this – tilt your head to the right, lift your chin up, smile, eyes on me, etc. The Mehras were on their annual visit to Mohan photo studio for their family portrait.
The pictures, two copies, would be ready for collection after a few days and the whole family waited excitedly for the envelope containing the black and white photos and its negatives.
“They look like they were cut out of old x ray reports we got from the hospital when papa broke his arm.” This observation by the 10 year old Yashasvi elicited spontaneous laughter from everybody in the room.
Anu gently removed the treasured picture from the envelope and pasted it in the hard bound album. She kept the second copy in the envelope and put it in her Godrej cupboard for safekeeping.Last year they had splurged on a fancy frame from their local shop and Amit had done a good job of hanging the picture on a sturdy nail in the living room. The picture was a conversation starter for friends and relatives.
Read posts from fellow bloggers for Friday Reflections here.
Such simpler times they were. What a lovely story. I loved the little details like the BEST bus and the Godrej cupboard. We’ve all had those in our homes. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was smiling throughout the read. ❤
Thank you for reading and smiling. This story popped into my head the moment I saw the picture prompt 🙂
Yeh, I remember when my parents used to take us to the photo studio for the annual photo! Those were the days. This time when I will visit my mother’s place, I sure will dig out those for a fair treat down the memory lane.
It was a wonderful read Sulekha!
Anagha, welcome to my blog and thank you for your lovely comment. I love going through the black and white pictures at home.
This is something which I absolutely love doing-digging out old photographs from Mom’s neatly stacked photo albums. Those photographs had such a great charm. With the introduction of cameras and mobile phones, everyone is now a professional photographer. Well, me included. Hihi. I don’t remember going to a photo studio to click a picture. Yeah once for the passport. Awesome post, Sulekha. Loved having you at Friday reflections.
Shalzzz, thanks for mentioning the Friday Reflections to me when we met. I was happy to participate and hope to be here for a long time 🙂
Despite being fiction the imagery is so vivid! Brought back such memories of portrait photos in the studio! Your build up of the scene is commendable, Sulekha. Could see everything, down to the Godrej cupboard and the black and white photos 🙂
Shailaja, your comment gives me hope that I can write. Been doubting my writing for a while now 🙁 Thank you so much.
Going to photostudio for family pics is now almost an obslete thing; I remember being fascinated with the negatives too and couldnt imagine how a colour picture comes out of that and that also so much bigger! 😉
Shalini, I know 🙂 Thanks
So much nostalgia and sentiment in this. Very well written.
Damyanti, thank you for your lovely comment.
Oh the simplicity that used to lie in those glossy pics. How often do we get ourselves clicked like in those days , and print them? Somehow these prints from our good old days is more cherished than those on our gadgets, that seldom find a way into an album!
Ramya, now we have so many pictures that they don’t feel so special. Effortless becomes mundane after a while 🙂 Thanks.