"I was never fated to be a photographer"

Veteran photographer Mukunda Bahadur Shrestha reminisces, “As a kid, I felt special to study in Durbar High School because it was tough to get admission”. The ace photographer reveals he dropped out of high school and landed his first job at his maternal uncle’s Jan Sewa Hall where movies opened up a whole new world but did not continue after a devastating fire incident. Before being the sole applicant for the photographer position at the (then) Department of Tourism, he remembers holding a menial job for two straight years with a monthly income of Rs. 125. At 85, his memory is extraordinarily sharp and in a pensive mood, he quietly confides, “It would’ve been nice to have someone else other than my wife at home to share things”.

How do you remember the old Kathmandu?
I have fond memories of it as a quite small place. We would immediately know which person belonged to which area. There were so few people in the city. If a man from Thamel came to our area, he would stand out. The food was fresh. People were extremely helpful, friendly and disciplined. We had a system of reminder: during nights at exactly 9, a canon would blast from Chauni, it meant we were not allowed be out of the house. If one really had to get out in the night then a secret message had to be passed verbally through messengers that would reach the police. The sound of the canon would repeat at 5am then only we could begin our day. The houses had thatched roofs. When my friends and I used to go to school, we would carry 5 paisa for tiffin and visit a small teashop behind the school. Eating aloochops with tea was the favorite part of the day.

Was it always a conscious decision to follow photography?
My father was originally a jeweler, and my grandfather used to go travel on foot to Raxaul to get the gems for the Ranas, which was then brought to Kathmandu for the finished product. The jewels were so cheap. I still remember buying a Belgian cut diamond at Rs. 600at the time. If you try to buy it now, it will cost you a fortune.

However, when the first time I saw my maternal uncle’s Pentax box camera, I immediately wanted to click pictures. After a few years, I bought a box camera myself, and then I started experimenting with it. I seriously started learning photography when I was 21. One hardly had a camera back then so everything I learnt was through trial and error and I still have those negatives. I loved traveling and taking pictures. I did not even realize when a simple hobby had turned into a passion.

When you started working for the Department of Tourism, was traveling difficult?
It was tough but extremely pleasurable. I’ve walked to every nook and cranny of the nation, breathing the free and fresh wind of the pahad is still reminiscent. At the time, I was paid Rs. 3 for walking every kilometer and Rs. 5 for food, so my daily wage was Rs. 8. It was good money. I loved going to Pokhara the most but we did not have proper roads connecting the cities. We had to fly via a plane called Dakota, which didn’t have seats rather a long bench for us to sit down. I especially enjoyed trekking around Gurung villages like Ghandruk. The villagers would treat guests like Gods and decline any form of remuneration.

Do you remember any horrific incident while trekking?
I often reminisce about those lovely treks but when I think of some places, the hairs on my back still stand up. When a German couple, a friend and I went to Langtang, we had to cross a plank of wood with an enormous hill right ahead and below a bottomless pit from where a faint gushing of river could be heard. All four of us did not have the guts to cross that piece of wood and kept looking at each others’ faces thinking who would go first. When we finally did cross it, our faces had turned blue out of fear and we rolled down on an open ground praying for our lives.

With those conditions, how difficult was it to photograph?
It was a grueling job. I used to carry three/four cameras—color, black and white, and slide. I had a camera that weighed 5kg and I took it wherever I went. Back then, the cameras did not have aperture setting, so I had to literally guess. I would wait for hours just to get the perfect lighting for mountain shots. I think I was the first person to have his own darkroom as well. I remember when I went to Mustang, I met the Khampas, and they would not speak to us because of the language and survived on Yak’s sukuti. They did not allow me to click a picture of them eating the meat but had to coax them to let me shoot when they were riding.

You were quite young during the 1934 earthquake, how well do you remember it?
I was 7 years when I was playing with my friends in the garden suddenly a 20 foot wall began to shake and crumble. I’ve seen Satyayug in Kathmandu because although personal belongings could be found everywhere, there was no incident of theft. Also, there were no concrete buildings, New Road was built only after the quake.

How does the 1950 revolution stay in your mind?
I was working at Singha Durbar when Ganesh Man Singh and others were protesting against the regime. He would lie in front of Dharara and ask us to go over him if we did not support him, government officers like us would have no choice but to go ahead. We were given a special badge that would differentiate us and allowed inside the Durbar. I even saw him arrested and brought in front of the then Foreign Affairs Ministry. With heavy shackles all over immobilizing him, it was a gruesome sight. I could not muster up any strength to look at him. I even witnessed the arrest of Dharma Bhakta who happens to be a distant relative of mine. When I was 15-16 years old, I would go to his place to exercise. The police back then did not have a definitive uniform like ours today. They were distinct because of their shorts and certain kind of cloth draped over their legs.

Do you still meet up with old friends?
All of my friends have passed away and the only friend remaining is Basant Shakya. Karna was a small kid when we started our schooling so, he treats me like a brother. Also, Basant’s son Yogendra loves me like a father. When Kathmandu Guest House was started, they didn’t have proper bedding so they would fill up the sacks with straw. It was economical, practical and warm as well.

How does it feel to receive adulation after such a long period of time?
I feel all my years of hard work are finally being appreciated. I was never fated to be a photographer. It was due to the support of my friends that I was capable to do so. At this age, a peace of mind and soul is all I seek.