Automobiles

This section of my virtual library and archive will display what I have collected on automobiles -- mainly catalogues, owner's manuals, magazine articles and newspaper cuttings, plus my own photographs.  For the books, please check my other blog www.book lover@blogspot.com. I' sorry but I just don't have the resources to scan entire books, so here are a few pages from this (1960s?) Austin LD van driver's handbook to begin with. These workhorses were everywhere in Sri Lanka well into the 1980s. The Postal Department used them as delivery vans in the 1970s. Privately owned examples can still be found occasionally -- there's one parked half a km from my work place at Hunupitiya Cross Roads every day, looking forlornly for short haul hires. Find below the cover and a few inside pages.

Old photographs

Old photographs are valuable historical documents and what I have published here are photos collected by me over the years. The name of the photographer and other details are given if  known. This photo was given to me by Dr. Navamani Selvarajah of Jaffna. It shows the cast of a drama produced by the registrar of the Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai in the late 1960s.

This very old photograph shows a waterfall at Kuttalam, India. It was taken on 14/01/1953. It was given to me by Dr. Selvarajah. She says" "My late sister studied economics in India."

The photo carries the name Thawamanie S. on the back, so the photograph was presumably taken by Dr. Selvarajah's sister.

This photograph shows two actors posing for a publicity shot for Bertolt Brecht's play Puntila, which was produced in Sri Lanka by Finnish director Helena Lehtimaki in the mid-1980s. Seated behind the steering is Mahendra Perera, who is now a top film and stage actor. Standing next to him is the late Nihal Silva, who played Puntila (he was killed a few years later while driving past a military checkpoint).

The car belonged to Mr. Jayasuriya, a collector. Puntila was staged at the Lionel Wendt theatre. The owner drove this car on the stage via an improvised wooden ramp through a side entrance.

 The photo was taken with a Rolleicord twin lens reflex camera by photographer Edmund Gunasekara.

Old cameras and photographic equipment

I never owned a Nikon, when owning one seemed to be every photographer's dream. A Nikon was a status symbol back then (I apologise for the rough picture. This and all that will be featured today were taken by my elder daughter, who is facing an exam. Neither she nor I have the time these days for more careful set ups).
This 70s Nikon full manual camera is as solid as they come. It was gifted to me by Donald Gaminithilake, a keen amateur photographer. Thanks a lot, Donald! Both body and lens are in mint condition, in much better shape than any camera used by me, and those spots on the lens are reflections from the cracked cement.

This is a rare find for me (gifted by Donald. Thank you again!) for magnesium flash bulbs were gone out of use by the time I took to photography in the 1980s. This is an unused set and just looking at them takes me back to my childhood days, when I used to collect spent flash bulbs at weddings. Pity I didn't keep any of those.

This is another find (again thanks to Donald, a million thanks!) the folding type of flashgun which fired those magnesium bulbs. After use, the 'umbrella' can be folded back manually very neatly so that the gun will fit into a small vinyl carrying case.

The Yashica 635 twin lens reflex, an old workhorse camera which took 6 X 7 cm pictures (12 shots per roll). They used to say those who couldn't afford Rolleis bought Yashicas, which is really unfair because this is a very good camera. By the time I got into photography, twin lens reflexes were out except as studio portrait cameras, in which role they used cut film backs. I loved the look of them and bought the first I could find. The lens was still OK then for black and white, though not for colour. The camera still works fine and listening to the precision shutter is a pleasure. You can take pictures from ground level with it and also take them while holding it upside down, high above your head (in crowd situations).
Actually, I feel my daughter took a splendid portrait of this Yashica even though this is a hastily set up shot.

A necessary tool of many photographers a generation ago, though I don't know of any who still use one in Sri Lanka except myself. This isn't the one I use, this is an antique Weston I bought from Mr. Wijetunge, a noted photographer in the 1960s and 70s.

Tsunami pictures

I took this picture of the south-bound 'tsunami train' a week after the catastrophe. The train is back in service now (though at least one carriage is still in the sea) and there was talk of creating a museum at the disaster site. But this being Sri Lanka, it never happened. Most people have no time for yesterday's disasters, they live in fear of what tomorrow might bring...and the 'authorities' are absolutely callous in this regard.

Motorcycle touring/off road riding

I'd been riding motorbikes for twenty years before I discovered that what I'd been doing all my life is called motorcycle touring. This can happen when you have to teach yourself most things. I got into trail bikes and off road riding rather late in my biking life, about seven years ago. Nothing breathtaking, no daring jumps and leaps, just loved riding the bike into places like this rubber plantation. Enjoyed every minute of it. Had to stop this activity two years back due to finances (inflation and petrol sold by what we euphemistically call the government at black market prices).
In the meantime, hanging on to my two old trail bikes because you don't want to give up. You want to hang in there till better times...hope they come along before I get too old.
This old model Yamaha XT250 is a lovely bike but I exchanged it for an equally old Serow, which is a much better machine for off road riding.

Cycling, mountain biking, hiking, just plain enjoying myself

The rider in the picture is Shantha, who joined me once for a mountain biking trip in a tea estate. Mountain biking is still new to Sri Lanka, and village people look at you as if you are aliens, which really puts you off. Luckily, we hardly saw anyone during this trip.

Close up of Shantha.  He's a bicycle mechanic who says he was going to be a doctor, but that didn't happen.  I invited him along because I like him and also because I felt sorry for him. Hope that doesn't sound condescending, but you do feel sorry for people because of their bad luck and circumstances.

Miniature waterfall in full splendour, frozen at a low shutter speed. One of the dividends of getting out of the city and heading for the countryside.

1970s Yamaha RD

This was one of those dream bikes. My only experience with a Yamaha RD was taking a friend's bike for a short spin. It felt formidable. Very nippy in traffic and I enjoyed that two-stroke snarl. Thirsty machine but petrol was cheap. Many RDs are lovingly looked after the world over, but I haven't seen a good classic example in Sri Lanka yet.