Over the weekend, I was in BR Hills (Biligiri Rangana Hills) in Yelandur taluk of Karnataka with some friends. We reached there post 4:30 PM and it was almost sun-down by the time we got to the top.
For those who've not been there : it is a great view to see miles and miles of green forest + rolling hills in all directions esp. with the orange hue of the setting sun on the "hillock enveloping" clouds.
Given the picturesque setting, it was obvious that there would be some professional photographers who'd want to click snaps of tourists (with the right background ?) for a fee.
What caught our attention was not all of the above, but the 2 large boxes that were placed on a jutting rock in the center of the clearing. These boxes had a whole lot of people around it all "oohing" and "aahing". Curiosity piqued we walked up to the set of boxes and realized that it actually was a colour printer covered on all sides with wooden slats ie. weatherproofed !
It took us a few minutes to realize that we were actually looking at the Indian version of instant photography !.
The printer in the center was the place the couple of photographers would zip to post a "photo session" and print (for a price) copies of the individual tourists. The second box was a portable UPS for powering this printer !
Clearly, Indian "Jugaad" is alive and kicking. While I'm sure there will be a lot of people who'd comment on the lack of portability, unwieldiness of operation etc, the photographers themselves, seemed very nonchalant. They were showing off crisp photographs and doing some brisk business.
Hats off and power to the spirit of innovation....
Interesting. I was not aware this has reached "Betta". I have seen it for quite a few years now in front of the Lalbagh glass house. I presume you are talking of the lookout-point behind the temple?
ReplyDeleteYes Sir, It is at the lookout point.
ReplyDeleteThe chap who was handling this could not speak english, could not even explain the details in Kannada. That did not dampen his enthusiasm....
All in all : a very good base for innovation :-)