Bioscope show

S Balakrishnan *

This 'Bioscope' photograph is one of my greatest shots, though I may not be one among the greatest photographers; the bioscope entertainer, I am sure, would be a rare sight in these days of smartphones in which you can watch the whole universe rolling by.

But this was taken, ah, well … you have to roll 35 years back to 1984! The place was the remote Tashiding Monastery in far-off West Sikkim; the event was Bumchu ceremony, similar to the Kumbh Mela; and the date was 17th March 1984. Now that I have answered all the possible Ws – what, where, when, why, which, who – let the background story flow unhindered:

The most important annual festival of Tashiding Gonpa (Monastery) is 'Bhumchhu', sacred holy water ceremony. Large number of pilgrims from Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh and other adjoining areas attend it. Lama Ngadag Sempa Chhenpo introduced Bhumchhu ceremony in 17th century with a gift of a precious vase that he had brought from Tibet.

Tashiding hill is the navel point of the holy places in Sikkim and the Chorten (Stupa) here is the most holy one. Tashiding was recognised as the heart of Sikkim's holy places by none other than Guru Padmasambhava himself when he made a miraculous visit to this hill in the 8th century A.D. The monastery now houses about 75 Lamas/monks.

The monastery is so sacred that a mere sighting of it would cleanse one of all sins as its title aptly suggests – Thong-Warang-Drol, meaning "Saviour by mere sight". Besides, it contains the precious relic of mythical Buddha. Well, the Vajrayana or Tantrayana Buddhism is quite complicated for lay people to comprehend, and I am one among them.

Yet, I was in constant search of divine knowledge (please, believe me!) and therefore was keen to attend this unique Bumchu ceremony; I was fortunate to attend the immediate first one after my arrival in Sikkim.

So I was there and what a heady experience! The 'mela' (fair) held on Bumchu occasion was quite interesting. Devotees from Bhutan with their traditional attire and also the Sikkimese in their traditional festive best, the sights & sounds … it was simply fascinating.

The ceremony was over the previous night and it was time for fun and frolic, so it seemed. It was then that I caught sight of the bioscope entertainer. Both young and old were keenly enjoying the show. The proprietor of this 'moving cinema' appears to be from Bihar; he is seen playing the gramophone record that seems to the smallest in size, of 7 inch size with 33 1D 3 RPM. There are a total of five view holes.

While the girl is trying to steal a glance, the other two boys are also equally curious. What is the stylish young man doing there? Waiting for his turn or had he accompanied the kids? Note that his and the boy's trousers have side pockets, a fashion in those days which is continuing even after 35 years.

Personally I prefer this to the front pockets as this is quite convenient. He has styled his hair like Bruce Lee. It was pleasant spring season; while some trees were sprouting new leaves, others were in bloom. So, the young man has almost unbuttoned his shirt to enjoy the pleasant weather to the hilt, after the severe winter. A traditional house on stilts stands in the background.

Tashiding Monastery is atop a hill and is quite secluded, as the monasteries usually are. No regular transport then and I doubt if it has now either. It is a sacred religious place with few lay people living nearby. Hence it did not have any video parlours that were found in Geyzing, headquarters of West Sikkim District, the nearest point from where the crowd had commuted.

Even Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, had just two run-down cinema halls in 1984 but many video parlours – both legal and illegal – that screened you-know-what stuff with the board outside solemnly displaying otherwise.

Did I watch this unique bioscope show? Oh, no! And I am cursing myself for this greatest blunder, next only to marrying. Maybe there were other attractive distractions for me to capture with my Yashica still camera and I had simply moved on with an intention to come back after a round.

And there were indeed plenty of sights for my camera to capture; immersed in these I probably never returned. Maybe I felt shy to watch it like a little kid and resisted my temptation. But see the grownup Nepali person; he has no qualms at all watching the show. Whatever be the reason, I lost a lifetime opportunity, a historical opportunity, which I regret to this day.

I revisited Tashiding in 2014 despite the unwillingness of the car driver to drive his new vehicle in the bad road to Tahsiding, and it was really worse. But there was no Bumchu ceremony then and no merriment. It seemed deserted and very solemn.

With the explosion of telecommunication – TV telecast and smartphone reach – I knew I would be a fool but I could not help secretly wishing for the sudden appearance from nowhere of the Bioscope entertainer.

The only relief is that at least I had the quick sense to click the show of the great showman where none is posing and all are just themselves, deeply involved in their karma of watching the Bioscope.