Thread by @satyanewshi

India's Tryst With Camera Manufacturing: In Post Covid times being self-reliant is the new buzz word, but when we hear about camera which are the brands that comes to our mind and are any of them Indian - perhaps the answer is NO

But a question lingered in my mind did India ever try to manufacture a camera?

In search of these question I stumbled upon a fascinating history which was right in the heart of the city of Joy – Kolkata and I thought let me share this with everyone.
So did India manufactured camera ? – the answer is YES it did.

National -35 sprinty c, this camera was manufactured by CSIR (Centre for scientific & industrial research) facility, National Instruments, at Calcutta. It retailed for Rs 780 in 1979.

So how it all started – well its long history that dates back to 1936 in Germany, The regulators factory King & Bauser GmbH , based in Bad Liebenzell was a manufacturer of cameras of the lower and middle price range.

The company was founded in Pforzheim in July 1936 by the King family and was known as King KG. In 1949 King KG published the prototype of its first camera, the 35mm camera Regula I.

The National Instruments Limited which was actually set up under the name of 'Mathematical Instrument Maker' in 1830 by George Everest, it was taken over by the Indian Government in 1957 and re-christened 'National Instruments'.

The new factory was built in Jadavpur, Calcutta. In 1977 National Instruments , after acquiring drawings, machines and spare parts from King KG, produced in Calcutta under license Regula cameras so one can say it was an acquired technology but manufactured in India.

1979 was the defining year in the history of Indian photography as 35mm Still camera manufactured in India by National Instruments was launched nationwide.

Then in 1984 Regula-Werk King & Bauser GmbH in Germany went bankrupt & in 1989 National Instruments was declared sick unit .Its majority of work force was dissolved.

Then finally in 2003 Production stopped In National instruments, remaining employees took VRS. The factory premises were abandoned and it was curtains down for an ambitious & spirited Effort over 2 decades

In 2009,Jadavpur University took over the factory premises to build a new campus.

The Media Lab of JU undertook a major documentation project on the closed National Instruments Limited factory in 2009.

More than ten photographers were commissioned by the Lab to create an extensive archive of stills and video over six months that produced floor by floor and room by room records of all the tools, objects and machines lying on the premises.

Testimonies of ex-employees, their personal belongings and other objects that made the place one of the most fascinating instances of industrial ruins.

One can read & view about it extensively in
medialabju.org/medialab_facto…

Though the glory days of the National 35 camera were shortlived, the camera & its manufacturing played an important role in the history of photography in India.

Do watch this soulful documentary titled “Letters to Mother” on India’s only Camera Manufacturing Factory made by Jadavpur University’s Media Lab

As Berenice Abbott (1898 – 1991) once said “Photography can only represent the present .Once photographed the subject become a part of the past”.

Just like the subjects the camera & its factory also faded into oblivion, but those cameras also had a glorious past, while today again we are thinking of being self-reliant perhaps we can draw some useful lessons from past.
Happy #WorldPhotographyDay – August 19