Sunday Bazaar at BVKI Road, Bangalore.

<p>I bought this little Exa [possibly 1956] from Ebay US for abour $7. It came stripped down bare, with no leatherette covering. I was assured all other things were functional; they were. It needed some cleaning and restoration. Did that with Automobile upholstery vinyl. One Square Metre of this material costs about US$2. One can cover more than 10 cameras with that. Net cost for this camera was less than $ 0.50, including adhesive.<br>

I went to the Old Town again today and got off on a street parallel to Avenue Road [posted last week]. It is known as BVK I Road, just one part of it. Another part is known as ASC Road. All these are initials for long winded names that many find difficult to pronounce.<br /><br />Was surprised to find that they had a weekly trade fair [much like the rural ones] on the street. Shop owners as well as free traders from other places had set up stalls on either side of the road. They were selling everything from recycled scrap and hand tools to traditional utensils and modern appliances. <br /><br />Only things missing were the goats, sheep and cattle that one would find in the rural fair; it is called a “Sandhai” in Tamil [meaning a gathering of traders and buyers. The Officialdom anglicized the word into “Shandy” [not in anyway related to Beer & Lemonade!]. Of course, the bargaining under the towel with fingers was missing. I was amused to find that as a universal practice even in the US and Canada related to livestock trade.<br /><br />The experience was fantastic; a big crowd of sellers, buyers and simple on-lookers all relaxed and enjoying themselves. I tried out the Exa with a Meritar lens. Here are some samples.<br /><br /></p><div></div>

<p>All functions were good. The guillotine shutter seems a little faster than what is marked on the settings scale. So I had a few under-exposed frames. My apologies for the same.</p><div></div>

<p>Took me a day to make the templates out of paper tapes and cut the vinyl to shape. And, some "spit and polish" too! I had this Meritar lens from an earlier buy.</p><div></div>

<p>I changed the Penta Prism to a Waist Level Finder, also <em>Ihagee</em>. It has a magnifier and is brighter to view and focus. Controls are simple and easy to access. The shape fits the palms nicely, a handy little camera.</p><div></div>

<p>The variety of things on sale was too large to do justice in one walk through and one roll. I have tried to portray a decent sampling. I walked only a quarter of the length of the Bazaar.</p><div></div>

<p>Cmmercial caterers, wedding halls, restaurants etc., buy these huge utensils. Most are quite traditional in form and use.</p><div></div>

<p>These are domestic size items; possibly, have a large and expanding market contributed by the population increase and upward economic mobility.</p><div></div>

<p>Traders are now quite aware of the "Fast Moving Goods" [FMG]. Often, a store would refuse to procure an item for us saying "that is not a fast moving item, sorry." That is a big change in the last two decades.</p><div></div>

<p>With all the pedestrian shoppers and onlookers the cars trucks and taxis were also moving along the road with careful maneuvers. The cops did not block the road for automobile traffic for the fair. People some how seemed to get along in different modes.</p><div></div>

<p>I was quite surprised by the street sale of these items. Possibly, there are two reasons for this: (1) they can reduce overheads of rental and shop keeper's margins on this; (2) there is a shortage of show room space. As a sales strategy the sellers also get a ready made crowd to show their goods here.</p><div></div>

<p>Late comers and the not-so-aggressive ones had to work from the side streets. Some like the one in this picture operated from their vans.</p><div></div>

<p>One could see people of different religions trading here side by side. Islamic caps are common.</p><div></div>

<p>These were elite items until the last decade. They were to be seen only in show rooms. This is a big change that they are sold in a Shandy.</p><div></div>

<p>Health clubs are becoming common in the neighborhoods. Health equipment industry also has its elite segment with factory made items, treadmills and the like. The ones on the picture above are made in small manual foundries and workshops. A bit less refined in finish but they will do the job just as well.</p><div></div>

<p>See those shock absorbers? They recondition old ones manually by opening the flange and seal. They refill with more viscous oil, put in a new rubber seal and bend the flange back to shape. They do all this by hand usually in small shop run by a single person. When I had an old Willys Jeep I had bought re-built shock absorbers and fitted them. They lasted more than 3 years when I sold the Jeep.</p><div></div>

<p>And then the last one.</p><div></div>

<p>I hope it was interesting to you. I enjoyed trying out the Exa especially in this context. I was confronted by an old retired photographer; he looked at my Exa and exclaimed "my..why...that is an old camera!" I said "yes sir! I am too." So he told me how he used to run a photo studio years ago and still has so many Rollieflexes and Rolliecords at home. His son is a Neuro-Surgeon and his daughter, a software engineer and that he has retired. It was an enjoyable Sunday.<br>

I hope you enjoy the pictures; thanks for viewing and your comments. Regards, sp.</p>

<p>If the camera is underexposing I did not find it objectionable, as it appears you were shooting in very contrasty light. Thanks once again for a delightful essay.<br>

Bob</p>

As always, interesting pictures and great restoration job. That auto unholstery vinyl works great. Thanks for posting.

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I have to agree that auto-vinyl looks great on the Exa. I missed one a few days ago They were consolidating all the film goods to make place dor 2nd hand digital and were making everything flat, so 50,00€ ,30,00€ 10,00€.

I happened along as they were lifting the goods and making the sign. I had an interview which I knew wouldn't take more than 30 minutes.. I figured I had time- Nope gone when I came back for 10,00€ an Exa 1b. I do already have one, and like you prefer to use the very bright waist level finder. My prism isn't too bright! I also would rate for ergonomics A1. It's so refreshing to see capitalism alive and well!! Sure pays to go the less traveled route eh? Thanks for an interesting look!

<p>Fine job on the Exa, <strong>SP</strong>; a quality camera at an infinitesimal price, thanks to your ingenuity! We occasionally have these street markets, but not with the huge variety of goods on offer in yours. You've captured the hustle and bustle perfectly. These pics seem a little poorer in graduation than your last series, under-exposure aside. Was it just a harsh light, or have you altered your brew?<br>

Thanks for another fine series.</p>

 

<p>Interesting photos, SP. What fun it would be to go to a market like that.</p>

<p>great restoration job and excellent photo-essay, SP. i'm looking forward to seeing more.</p>

<p>Great restoration story and great photos. Truly inspirational. Enough to make me want to finally clean and restore my Leica III.</p>