Re: [Leica] Indian police

["Claes Bjerner" <claes.bjerner@pi.se>]

> I'm not disputing anyone else's reality about photograohy in India.
> However, I had no problems with police concerning photography during the
> five weeks I was in India last Spring. I traveled about 3500 km by rail
> in every class and must have exposed at least 60 rolls of medium format
> and 35mm film which included shots in rry stations, aboard trains, and
> even shots of cooperative police and soldiers themselves. I  flew around
> the North and photographed airport scenes and within terminals at small
> airports that were also military bases. There are a lot of soldiers with
> .303 Enfields standing around in all these places but none ever bothered
> me. Namaste, Bill Lawlor

Despite more than a dozen assignments to India I´ve never really been
mistreated by their police. Of course, a few times I was brought to their
station and interrogated about my true intentions taking certain pictures.
But they always treated me correctly. The only time the police really upset
me happened years ago in Uttar Pradesh, to be more exact in the city of
Lucknow.

All I needed at that time was a shot of a certain building facing a square.
But there were too many curious people blocking my view, and somehow I lost
my cool and shouted at them. Immediately a high ranking police officer with
lots of medal ribbons and a big impressive mustashe stood next to me and
asked: "What seems to the problem?" Without thinking I told him about all
those people standing in my way. And before I could stop him he took out a
whistle and called his troops, who had been waiting inside several covered
lorries in the side streets next to the square. They all suddenly swarmed
all over the square wipping and chasing away every one except me and my
camera. After just a minute or two I was all alone on an empty square which
at that moment felt extremely large. And every doorway was jampacked with
bruised and pissed off civilians staring with anger at me. Needless to say I
run back to my car rather than taking pictures.

Claes