Do you remember the time, not so many moons ago, when an air of excitement and curiosity took over the entire household at the mention of newly-developed pictures, brought home straight from the photo studio?

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The process of clicking pictures was much more personal and cathartic back in the day. What with having to choose every shot wisely (and sparingly) unlike the senseless clicks we have become accustomed to nowadays. Along with the rolls of films we had to keep handy, the spare batteries we guarded with our life during long vacations, and the negatives we held so dear, the entire process was more involved, more meaningful somehow.

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Yet, the best moment lay in holding physical copies of the pictures taken a lifetime ago. Yes, it really felt that way at the time. After waiting for months, the film roll would finally be all used up, and we could pester the elders to drop the film at the nearest studio, and get the photographs developed.

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But nothing quite beats the thrill of setting our eyes on the final product and see for ourselves how every shot came out. You see, with old film cameras we couldn't know how good, bad or entirely pointless a picture turned out to be, until we got it developed and had it right before your eyes. At that point, one could either admire the pictures or break into a collective laughter riot over how “funny” the photograph is.

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Gone are the days when photos came out of tiny, dark rooms, filled with red light, and lined with rows and rows of freshly prepped photographs dripping with chemicals that magically brought the subjects to life on a piece of glossy paper.

With changing times, even the simple old film camera has undergone tremendous changes. The advent, and then the explosion of digital cameras, followed by SLRs, DSLRs and more recently the top-notch smartphone cameras, completely replaced physical photographs with digital copies that hardly ever make it beyond our social media feeds.

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However, one man living in the pristine hills of Dehradun saw the worthy heritage the old cameras hold and decided to keep the legacy alive for future generations to appreciate, by collecting 250 different kinds of cameras. A businessman by profession, Amar Dhunanda told ANI what inspired him to take up this unique task. “I have collected other antique materials also. This is my hobby & an effort to preserve the legacy so that new generation would be able to learn how their ancestors used to operate,” Dhunanda told ANI.

Dehradun-based businessman Amar Dhunanda has a collection of over 250 different cameras; says, "I have collected other antique materials also. This is my hobby & an effort to preserve the legacy so that new generation would be able to learn how their ancestors used to operate." pic.twitter.com/LR0gzOqK9K

These pictures of Mr Dhunanada's collection are nothing less than a marvel for those of us who haven't laid our eyes on more than half the cameras on display here. Mr Dhunanda's efforts in trying to preserve the legacy inherent in the composition and functioning of these various cameras, is surely commendable.

Maybe a day will come when we shall come to relive the magic of good ol' cameras, and the thrill physical photographs brought to life. Just like the Polaroid cameras have made a comeback recently?