Dehradun, August 18
From elaborate art studios in the early 1940s to dark rooms playing a key role in the 80s to technology driven modern colour labs, photo studios in Doon have come a long way.

These studios have churned out high-quality work, provided exposure and opportunity to several photographers who began as apprentices and later carved a niche for themselves.

The pristine valleys, meadows and wildlife of Uttarakhand continues to remain a popular subject with photographers so also is the defence establishment and schools from where work continues to pour in.

At first somnolent to the changes taking place, studio owners took their own time to upgrade their establishments.

Some got decimated but the others could not remain oblivious to the technology sweeping in with the advent of computers and high-quality printing.

On World Photography Day tomorrow, one cannot forget the role of old studios such as Indian Art on Rajpur Road, RC Bedi and Sons and Bishan Singh Studios that were centres of heightened activity and patronised by the former royalty of India who had set up summer homes in Dehradun and Mussoorie.

“They were the subject for most studios. Family portraits and individual photographs of prince and princesses in their finery or on a safari were the dominating themes, especially of the Maharaja of Tehri and Nepal,” said Naveen Nautiyal whose father owned the then Indian Art Studio.

In those days, technology did not aid the photographer. Photographs were clicked in broad daylight and only Japanese and German cameras were in vogue.

After clicking a particular photograph, the photographer spent hours at the dark room developing his films.

“My father, who had the oldest studio in Dehradun - Goyal Photo Company - was a master both with the camera and behind the camera. When he emerged out of the dark room, the result of his hard labour was magical,” said Rajneesh Goyal, eldest son of Sagar Mal who will be completing 100 years in November.

It will not be a misnomer to state that Doon has half a dozen Goyals in the business of photography - from Ajanta Studio, RK Goyal Studio on Chakrata road to another Goyal Studio on the Rajpur Road. These have in one way or the other given shape to photography in Doon.

The famous Mela Ram Photo Studio at Connaught Place in the city has an interesting anecdote to share.

The photo studio that traces its history from Peshwar in Pakistan continues to carry the name of the pioneer war photographer who never set foot in India.

The shop is a hit with the Doon School and its alumni. The shop was set up in Dehradun by his grandson Roshan Lall in 1947 (son of Labindara Nath, the eldest of the four sons of Mela Ram Vig). Now, Mohan Lall continues this tradition and is the photographer of the Doon School.

“Mela Ram was a Peshawar-based war photographer who marched with the British army, taking photographs of British military expeditions. Mela Ram’s eldest son Labindranath and his three sons - Roshan Lall, Hiral Lall and Kishan Lall migrated to Dehradun with a battalion of the 5th Gorkha Rifles and set up a studio in 1947,” said Mohan Lall, the present owner of the studio.

Mela Ram finds a mention in a book titled ‘War Photography in Nineteenth Century India and Afghanistan’ by Omar Khan.

The article mentions three photographers who pioneered war photography. Mela Ram figures among them. He accompanied British military expeditions into Kohat, Wazirsitan and other agencies during the early 20th century.

Coming to the new breed of photographers, many have honed their skills at these studios and then gradually have come good through their own efforts.

A firm believer in technology, Bhumesh Bharti, a freelance photographer who pioneered industrial photography in Doon, believes it would take him two lives to discover the beauty of Uttarakhand through his camera.

“I think had digital cameras been invented when Neil Armstrong went to the moon, his photographs would have been very different.

“The results are easily available now and the photographer can easily get rid the errors and revisit his subject,” said Bhumesh, who also has a passion for wildlife photography, capturing insects and animals in his camera.

As a freelancer attached with the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), he is aware of the hand-to-mouth existence that photographers have to lead.

“I think a photographer should learn early in life to market himself. Otherwise, he will have a difficult time. Copyright can play a very vital role in ensuring livelihood for photographers and giving them their due,” he asserted.

Dehradun, August 18
It was a goodly gathering of civil society that had assembled on Monday at the Town Hall here to hold a protest in Gandhigiri style against the indiscriminate and senseless cutting of trees by the administration.

The activists belonging to various organisations committed to save trees went to Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli’s office.

They presented flowers to the Mayor and appealed to him to intervene in stopping the administration from cutting old trees in the city.

Earlier on Saturday, these activists planted over 100 saplings at St Joseph’s school in an hour.

They came from all walks of life; there were doctors, lawyers, educationists, school principals, chartered accountants, teachers as also a fair sprinkling of Josephities.

There were schoolchildren, the youngest was a six-year-old boy and the oldest was Mehrab Massey (85), a retired ONGC employee.

These persons had gathered at the call of “Citizens for Green Doon”, an association of Doonites, who believe in a Dehradun of green jungle rather than a concrete one.

The administration had cut many trees, some of them as old as 150 years, on the eastern boundary of St Joseph’s School, touching the Lytton road.

The ostensible reason give was that the administration wanted to widen the road.

It is learnt that the demolition of the school’s boundary wall as well as the cutting of the trees was done without following the due permission.

It will be interesting to know that while the administration has demolished the St. Joseph’s side of the Lytton Road, encroachments galore across the road, on the other side.

Dr Kuldeep Datta, a cardiologist and an ardent defender of public causes, spared no punches in his brief speech and said even if the DFO had given some permission on paper for cutting of trees, he did not have the right under the law to do so.

Lt Gen KK Khanna (retd), IMA ex-commandant, vociferously supported this cause.

Shyam Ganguli, an educationist and an author of “Doon Rediscovered”, got nostalgic in recalling the good old days when Dehradun was known for it’s “green hedges and grey heads”. But alas, today, green hedges had totally disappeared.

Minnie Gautam, a Josephite from Naperville, Chicago, accompanied by her teenage daughter, Kaveri, especially came to lend her support to the cause. She was greatly distressed to see the destruction of the huge trees.

Raj Kanwar, a veteran journalist, and DAV College Alumni Association president, declared that the association would support the movement launched by “Friends of Green Doon”.

Mussoorie, August 18
Pilgrims to Gangotri say that it is their faith in Mother Ganga that has brought them there and it is the same faith that makes them endure the 18-km trek to Gaumukh.

Passing through the wooded Banglubasa, Devghat, Chirbasa to Bhojbasa that is stripped of trees, one is exposed to nature’ fury at every step of the trek.

The glacial eroded mountains without a pint of grass have loose soil and stones which on the slightest provocation of wind or indiscriminate movement of mountain sheep tumble down.

The trek route had no railing to keep pilgrims away from the deep valley beyond the edge. The fact that the region has been delineated as Gangotri National Park adds to the misery of the pilgrims.

This has been done to preserve the receding glacier by minimising human intervention. The forest department issues permit to only 150 persons every day who may walk or ride a mule at their own risk.

The lack of a support system in terms of food, water and medical help makes the journey more difficult. No makeshift restaurants and eating places have been allowed in the area.

The rules of forest department come under pressure during the ‘kanwari’ season when hordes of these water carriers throng the Gaumukh to collect holy water. In the process they leave behind clothes, shoes and plastics.

The forest department has an entry fee to the national park and an arrangement to collect plastics at the entry gate. Yet, plastic bottles, one-time-used raincoats, packings and wrappers find their way into the park.

The accumulated garbage is burnt at different points in bins or in the open. As these emissions and heat are a result of polymer combustion, these are much more than traditional fuels and harm the environment more.

The role of the forest department was termed as extreme when they uprooted the camp sites at Bhojbasa.

They are obviously bound by the book but then, without the barest of facilities, how can the tourists survive at 6,800 metres above sea level?

Conservation does not only mean de-humanising environmentally sensitive zones but can also be interpreted as eliciting participation through responsible behaviour in the national park.

The stripped zones can be reclaimed through an eco-system service fee with the tourists being participants in greening and depositing all non-biodegradable waste at the entry point.

To succeed in such an endeavour, one will always require the support of the stakeholders and the beneficiaries of the tourist activity.

The forest and the tourist department have to strike a middle ground in the interest of the tourists who are limited in number.

(Vipin Kumar is an environmentalist and waste management expert.)

Dehradun, August 18
Even as its CMD RS Sharma recently claimed that the ONGC was carrying out many activities under Corporate Social Responsibility in Dehradun, Mayor Vinod Chamoli yesterdayday expressed dissatisfaction saying the activities were not commensurate with the reputation of the company.

Chamoli lamented that the Bluehip company, which has its head office here, was in a position to contribute more than it was doing now.

“We want that it should help in bigger projects like widening and beautification of the main Rajpur road. Though preliminary discussions were held earlier with the top ONGC officials in this regard but no headway could be made,” he said.

Sharma, who was in the city to preside over the Independence Day function organised on the ONGC premises, had while briefing the mediapersons about his meeting with Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank reiterated the company’s commitment to be partner in the state’s growth.

As part of the commitment, the ONGC had shown interest for a tie up with the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) to give facelift to some road junctions, parks and most importantly the Rajpur road.

Though such efforts had been made in this regard in the past, somehow they failed to materialise. The development and beautification of the Kishangarh Chowk is the case in point.

The MDDA authorities revived the process recently by writing to the corporate houses having presence in the state for their contribution.

The ONGC reciprocated promptly and held preliminary talks with them. But the matter ended there.

Chamoli is seeking cooperation of the ONGC in the Rs 75 crore project of developing the Rajpur road on the pattern of a Mall Road. The project entails widening of the road starting from the Clock Tower.

Besides, it has also been planned to ensure maximum greenery on both sides, develop the petrol stations along it in the shape of parks, construction of public toilets and proper pavements among other things.

Dehradun, August 18
The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine installed at Doon Hospital has became operational and giving regular services to the patients.

Being run on public private mode by Mahajan Imaging Pvt Ltd and it’s representative Dr Col HS Bhatia till June 2014 is also a test case for the health authorities as this is the first time that such an arrangement has been made.

Since it’s launch in early week of July a total of 83 below poverty line (BPL) cases and 42 above poverty line (APL) cases have been taken care while Rs 1,47,000 have been collected as user charges for the month of July.

While for the OPD hours the number of cases attended upon are 119 and an amount of Rs 4,16,500 have been collected as user charges.

“We are monitoring the activities of the private company, since it became operational in July there were seven days when the machine did not function,” said Dr Sudhanshu Bahuguna, additional director DG health.