If Sebastian D’Souza was summoned to testify at a special sessions court in Mumbai, it was because he was the only lensman at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to take photographs of Ajmal Kasab. The trial, was on the case relating to the Pakistani gunman — the lone terrorist to survive in the 26/11 military operations.
The Kasab photos he clicked have made D’Souza famous across the world. But he was far less known three years ago when I met him in Mumbai, while I was doing an article on news photographers. Initially, D’Souza proved elusive. There was no response to my text messages. When I called his office — at that time he was with AFP news agency — I was told that he was out of town on an assignment.
But when I finally did get in touch wit him, I could sense why D’Souza was, after all, indifferent. “Journalists of today get the facts wrong,” he shrugged. “They misquote people.” I promised him that I would do a better job and he agreed to the interview.
During our conversation, D’Souza said he had lately noticed a disturbing trend: the public readily beat up photographers and TV cameramen at the scene of a tragedy. But he had an explanation for this. “Just as these callow professionals arrive at the site, they whip out their cameras and start shooting,” he said. “That enrages the public.”
According to him, the correct method — and the prudent one —is to first mingle with the crowd. “You should enquire about what has happened,” he says. “You should also try to help and only then start clicking.” So, maybe, being unobtrusive was what enabled D’Souza to take those unforgettable pictures of Kasab.
But wasn’t he scared then, I asked D’Souza recently. “Well, I was so engrossed in documenting what was unfolding in front of me that there was no thought of fear. In fact, I was calm since I have so many years of experience in covering riots and blasts.”
— shevlins@gmail.com
NSG Black Cat commandos fought at three locations that day. But there was just one doctor to attend to all of them, thanks to government rules that abolish posts that remain vacant for a specified period. On the fateful day, NSG had only 16 doctors totally — down from 29 only years ago.