One man, two cameras and a tight kept secret:

Rendezvous with royalty

Aditha Dissanayake

As Prince William prepares for his wedding with Kate Middleton next year, Kalabhushana L E Samararatne remembers that other wedding, twenty nine long years ago and how he photographed it for the Daily News

Postscript

On Thursday July 30, 1981,when the photos were published in the Daily News, L E Samararatne received many congratulatory pats on the back from his colleagues, friends and even strangers who saw him as the uncrowned king of photography. He had kept mum when asked if he had taken a charter flight to England the previous day to photograph the royal wedding.

Sunday Observer of August 2, 1981 carried one picture on page 1,and a full inside page with eight pictures.

Out of the Rs 1,000 the Chairman had given him only 674.50 was spent. The balance, when returned, was refused. He was not only asked to keep it but was given an additional Rs 1,000 as well.

Copies of the Daily News and the Sunday Observer were posted to Prince Charles,and were duly acknowledged.

After 35 years of service L E Samararatne retired from the Daily News in 1983. He yet continues to uplift the profession through donations of valuable books on photography to several libraries including the library at the photography department of the University of Kelaniya.

His book “Learn to See”, one of two books selected from around hundred manuscripts, at a competition initiated by the President’s Fund, was published with a grant given by the Fund.

Realizing the importance and lack of recognition of the profession of photography in Sri Lanka he is currently lobbying to get government recognition,through passing a lapsed bill in parliament on the Institute of Sri Lankan Photographers.

Realizing the importance and lack of recognition of the profession of photography in Sri Lanka, he initiated a Bill to incorporate the Institute of Sri Lankan Photographers in parliament in 1995, with no success. The Bill was revived in 2002 and was ready to be passed but as fate would have it the night before this particular day the parliament was dissolved.

“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe went home and my Bill went into the records room as a lapsed Bill” says Samararatne and adds “anybody who is interested is most welcome to revive the ready-made Bill.”

I was amused when I read an email recently from one of my former students (even the briefest stints as an assistant lecturer is bound to lead you into life-long friendships). Talking about one of her batch-mates she wrote “S is greatly disappointed over Prince William’s engagement.” Reading her words made my mind switch to rewind mode and I recalled how S had confessed at the end of one of my lectures, (we were discussing King Lear) amidst laughter from her friends, she hoped Prince Charles would one day be her father-in-law. Prince William, would have shattered not only S’s heart but the hearts of a million ‘wannabes’ all over the world the day he announced his engagement to Kate Middleton. She is the lucky one, the beautiful girl swept off her feet by a handsome young prince. Like in a fairy tale. Like in the first half of the story of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Special day

July 29, 1981. Who remembers that day? That wedding? If you are in the middle of your life these days (mid career, mid educational qualifications, mid thirties) you might have a vague recollection of the wedding described as Prince Diana’s date with a dazzling destiny. Or you might remember every minute detail from the overcast skies to the taffeta wedding dress to the mistakes they made; (she gives his names in the wrong order, he endows her with all her worldly goods, not his).

If you do, you are bound to remember the two photos of the royal couple in their carriage riding back to Buckingham palace from St. Paul’s cathedral, published on the front page of the Daily News of Thursday July 30, 1981.Especially so because these two were the only photos published in a local newspaper on the day after the wedding.

Today, as speculation ripens over the upcoming wedding of Prince William (who will design the wedding dress? Who will be Prince Harry’s date at the wedding? If Kate Middleton becomes queen? which would not take place until the death of both the current queen and the future king, Prince Charles ? will everyone call her Queen Kate?

Kalabushana L E Samararatne recalls that other wedding, those other photos in the Daily News, carrying his byline. How had he done it? Did he fly to London to photograph the event? If so how could he make it in time for the Daily News to carry the photos the very next day? How did he gain access inside St. Paul’s cathedral? Did he get an invitation? Did he wear a top hat and a tuxedo like the other guests?

He smiles. “Only a handful of people knew about it till the photos appeared on the front page of the Daily News” he recalls. Always on the lookout for innovative ways of capturing memorable events that crossed his path (to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Daily News he took a photo of an unbroken wicket)when he heard of the royal wedding he was determined to photograph the event knowing quite well a trip to London let along an invitation to the wedding was impossible.

Once he had formed a plan he had started practising at home using an uncountable number of film rolls to take colour photographs off the TV screen. By the end of the month he had mastered the technique to perfection with sharp, clear photographs as still as though the images had frozen on the Tv screen till he took the photo.

But what was in store for him on July 29 required a larger TV screen than the one at home. To overcome this hurdle he had contacted Ananda Tissa de Alwis, Minister of Information,who in turn instructed Permanent Secretary Sarath Amunugama, to give instructions in writing to Thevis Guruge who was in charge of the Padukka Satellite Station at the time. All correspondences were marked highly confidential. “When this matter was cleared I approached Dodwell Rodrigo, Managing Director and C E O, Millers and Kodak Colour lab” says Samararatne. “When I explained my plan to him,he promptly agreed to help me, free of charge.”

With this letter promising cooperation from the colour lab, he had made a beeline to the ANCL Chairman’s office. Ranapala Bodinagoda, when he was told of this innovative venture, was at first, flabbergasted. “He didn’t believe me. But when I convinced him it could be done he was filled with joy, and the first thing he made me do was to promise I would keep it a secret.”

Tough job

The wedding was to take place the next day at 9 am London time (2 pm local time). He said, “go home now don’t stay a single minute hanging around the office. Be here at nine tomorrow. I will have everything ready for you.”

July 29 had dawned as usual for Samararatne. He had driven to the Lake House with two Asahi Pentax Cameras, ten rolls of Kodak colour films and a sturdy tripod, stored in the back seat of his Morris Minor. He had signed the attendance register, chatted with his colleagues pretending as though this was just another mundane day in office, but sharp at nine stepped inside the Chairman’s office where everything had been arranged for him to leave for Paddukka, chauffeur driven in the Chairman’s car, with a thousand rupee note in his pocket and the court reporter Sarath Malalasekara as his companion.

Thevis Guruge who was waiting for them at Padukka had directed them to a room prepared specially for this event, with a large screen TV, food, water and assurance they will not to be disturbed. “I loaded the cameras,mounted both on one tripod, so as not to miss a single picture.” says Samararatne. “There was ample time to relax. I was ready to fire when the show began.

Around 2.30 pm,the pictures of the wedding began to appear on the Tv screen. The bride and the groom leaving their separate palaces, the horse drawn carriages,the crowds on the roads waving British flags, yelling greetings, blowing kisses...It’s difficult to describe the event accurately” he confesses, “I was too absorbed in clicking my camera to notice what was happening. The entire wedding took two to three hours. I finished seven rolls of colour films, 275 shots altogether.”

The arrangement was to have a shuttle service between Padukka and Colombo. Samararatne recalls every detail of that secret mission as if it happened yesterday. “I dispatched my companion Sarath, each time I came to the end of two rolls of film. He handed them to the Chairman, who, with the first batch, went to Millers accompanied by the editor, of the Daily News, B H S Jayawardane.

The editor had remained inside the lab while the printing was taking place, while the Chairman was seated at the entrance with the Managing Director Rodrigo, to prevent any pictures leaking out. By 6 pm I was back at ANCL but missed meeting the Chairman and the editor. They had returned with all the printed pictures, proofs, throw away pieces,and the 7 rolls of negatives and left the office ordering two pictures of the couple in the Royal Coach, for the next day’s Daily News.”

At midnight, the efforts of his endeavour were evident for the whole nation to see. The Daily News of Thursday July 30, 1981,carried two colour photos of the royal wedding on the front page with credit bylines for L E Samararatne and Millers Ltd for processing and printing.

Exclusive

No other paper in the country had a photo let alone a colour photo of the wedding on the day after the event. L E Samararatne quite rightly says if this was the wedding of the century then, his photos were surely the scoop of the century; (they not only depicted an event that had taken place nearly 10,000 miles away, but were in colour at a time when colour photography was at its infancy in Sri Lanka). He gives the thumbs up sign. His dictum is simple. There are no dreams too large, no innovations unimaginable and no hurdles you cannot scale.

Today, in the age of the internet, when Prince William marries Kate Middleton there would be less drama or no drama at all. Certainly no secret trips to satellite Tv stations, no shuttle services between Padukka and ANCL, no secret meetings in photo labs. The only hitch is, love being fickle, specially royal love, no one can know for certain if Prince William’s wedding will take place and if it does whether it would be as grand and as public as his parent’s wedding, thirty years ago. Keep your fingers crossed.aditha.

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