PSC then, PSSL now - Whither goest thou?

Fifty years ago there were two institutions in the country known for short by the three letters PSC. They were the Public Service Commission an independent body responsible to the Government for recruitment, training and disciplinary matters in all grades of the public service.

The other The Photographic Society of Ceylon the oldest society devoted to photography as an art form in the country. Both these organisations were held in high esteem by the then public at large - the Public Service Commission for its independence as a non-political organisation and the other as one that gave a great impetus to pictorial photography in the country. Now-a-days we do not hear very much about the Public Service Commission, but the Photographic Society known as the Photographic Society of sri Lanka (PSSL) has been in the news occasionally.

Though the PSSL was formed nearly a three quarters of a century ago its "golden period' commenced only after it moved into its present building in the Lionel Wendt Art Centre in the mid fifties.

This period saw every year international exhibitions with over forty countries taking part. There were pictures from Brazil and Venezuela in the far west to Singapore and Philippines in the Far East. What a sight it was! No doubt it was a period of relative calm, but the success was also due to the membership at the time. Money was secondary. It was a deep and abiding passion for photography that burnt within the members that resulted in such a remarkable success for the society.

Those were the days of black and white , but colour pictures also had started to make their appearance in smaller numbers. While the Society maintained a steady and uninterrupted standard in international exhibitions in respect of quality and quantity, the end of the nineties saw a steady decline. By this time a number of other societies in the country had gained what the PSSL had lost by then. This trend went on with fewer and few members taking part in society activities and about the year 2000, the society prepared a constitution incorporating all the earlier 'unwritten' rules and regulations at the time, but with a whole range of office-bearers.

Since this time the Society has made little progress in keeping up to its objectives. Mention has to be made of one particular society which has really obliterated the PSSL in respect of the objectives that PSSL had earlier. It is learnt that a new facelift is to be given to the Society keeping in mind the objectives by the recently appointed members of the executive committee. However, there is some doubt as to whether these so called improvements will bring in tangible results. Among these so-called improvements even a change in the programme for the monthly get-together of the Society has been envisaged.

This writer who used to be a visitor to the monthly meetings along with an uncle of hers in those halcyon days of the sixties and seventies remembers with nostalgia the pictures that were put up for discussion by those present at these meetings. The comments made were sometimes very caustic, but without any malice only to help the members who put up such pictures to improve their technique. Although there were appreciations by some members of some pictures they came under mild criticism by some others. Yet, everything was taken up in good spirits.

It is hoped that the Society will come up to its former glory in a few months time when the next international exhibition is going to be held towards the end of this year. The pictures should show creativity of a high calibre and an intelligent use of the new fangled technology that has crept in to photography in recent years.

- Anne