By B.C. Thimmaiah
Amid all the bustling new and ultra-modern photo shops aka studios that have sprung up in Mysuru city, where professionals sit behind counters trying to cope with demands of prints, blow-ups, profiles, albums, collecting data from digital cameras and pen drives, hard disks and memory cards, a quiet little shop has been going on, as it has been for over 63 years, with its friendly, old-world interior, quite unaffected by the glitter and dazzle of their competitors. For the owners of Roy Studio, it is more than just a shop they run — more than a room with photos, prints, frames, tripods and cameras. It was and is still like a place of worship. For a photography enthusiast, it was a must-visit place to get their rolls developed, discuss light and grain and aperture and get a few handy tips. Ask any old-timer in Mysuru about vintage photography and they are sure to take the name of Roy Studio. One of the oldest studios in Mysuru, Roy Studio is located at Agrahara Circle. Though Joseph Nicephore Niepiece made the first photographic image with a Camera Obscura in the summer of 1827, Mysuru’s tryst with photography started in 1930s or so. There was ‘Star Studio’ near Woodlands Theatre that had a reputation for its sharp group pictures. Then there was ‘Raj & Bros.’ (opposite Raghulal & Co.) off Sayyaji Rao Road. ‘Raj & Bros.’ were the "photographers by appointment to the Maharaja of Mysore" — a royal recognition and a great privilege. Probably, the very first studio to be established in Mysuru was the Star Studio by A.V. Varadachar and Sons. After Varadachar, D. Batroy, who trained under Varadachar, set up his own studio at the Krishnarajendra Co-operative Bank premises in 1954. He called it Roy Studio.
