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Gateway of India lensmen recall good old days as business goes down

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Sameer Shaikh tries to hold his umbrella between his neck and shoulder while he carefully places his expensive camera inside his bag. Today was a dull day for business as the rainy clouds didn't let him click good pictures of tourists. He stands outside Gateway of India unlike his competitors who are doing their business on the other side of barricades.

"I didn't go to school and I used to wash cars in the basement of Taj Hotel. I wanted to click pictures since I was a child, so I saved all my money and bought a second-hand camera," he said, while recalling memories of people carrying high-end cameras getting their photos clicked by him since he was a professional.

Sameer has been in this profession for eight years now but he is disillusioned by the way things have turned out for the photographer community after the 26/11 terror attacks in the city. "We couldn't stop anyone from being a photographer after that incident. Even people who sold kulfis and chana bought cameras on loans and started clicking away. Earlier, we were 65 in number but now there are more than 400 at a single spot. It's our luck that works for us now," said Shaikh.

There are three unions of photographers at the Gateway and most of their members are fighting for a valid licence to work as photographers. An organisation called 'Tourist First' trained them on how to treat tourists and what to do in emergencies. Four months ago, 'Tourist First' promised to organise valid work permit for them and to reduce competition in the area. It even gave them ID cards stating that they were the legitimate photographers of Gateway of India.

"They gave us jackets and an ID for Rs1,200. After an event at the Wankhede hall, they took the jackets for dry cleaning and asked us to pay an extra Rs50 to get them back. We make Rs30 per photo which is hard to come by. What they gave us was nothing but dead weight," said Binay Chaudhary, who is contemplating to leave this job and become a watchman.

The photographers complain of high-handedness by the police and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. "A girl from the North-east was murdered here and photographers had caught the culprit. The police came later but they were the ones who got promotion and rewards. In fact, the photographers concerned were arrested and each of them was made to pay fine of Rs1,250. Bir Prajapati is a photographer here and clicked many great photos when the 1993 blasts took place. Other photographers looted his photo role and were appointed as photojournalists in a major English daily," said Shiv Pujan Pandey who has been working here for the last 20 years and fighting for regularisation. Pandey also said that 60 per cent of the business has perished due to mobile phone cameras.

All the photographers agree that business grew after the terror attacks near the Gateway, be it the 2002 taxi blast, 1993 bomb blasts or the 26/11 attacks in 2008. "We clicked to our hearts' content. People would rush to click their photos near the blast site. They wanted a picture with the destroyed taxi or the shattered window panes. It was a great time to do photography," said Rajesh Gupta.

Next time you visit the Gateway of India and are hounded by "Madam photo! Sir photo!" questions, think before replying as that might be the only money they earn that day.



 

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