From Stamps to Shutters: The Journey of Guruswamy Perumal
--V.R.Ajith kumar
Eighty-seven-year-old Guruswamy Perumal and his
eighty-one-year-old wife, Kokila, came for a short visit to their hometown of
Tenkasi from Melbourne, Australia, after two years. After spending two months
there, they stopped at our residence in Koyambedu, Chennai, on the morning of
August 5, 2025, on their way back to Melbourne. While conversing with
Guruswamy, I felt compelled to write his remarkable life story.
Guruswamy was born in
February 1938, the eldest of five children of A. Perumal Naidu and Muthammal.
His father worked in the postal department during British rule and, after
serving in many places, finally settled in Tenkasi. There, Guruswamy completed
his schooling up to the tenth grade.
It was his father who first introduced him to hobbies such as stamp
and coin collection, encouraging him to correspond with pen friends abroad.
This widened his horizon and later proved to be a gateway to another
passion—photography.
A
turning point came in 1956 when his classmate Gomathi Nayakam, son of a local
judge, brought a Kodak Brownie camera to school. Guruswamy was fascinated.
Watching his friend click photos, touching the camera, and looking through its
viewfinder opened an entirely new world for him. Gomathi, impressed by
Guruswamy’s eye for detail, often said, “Photography will be your calling.”
Other friends also entrusted him with
their cameras—Jawahar Ali’s West German-made Isol 3 and Kalyana Sundaram’s
Aries Flux—further widening his world of photography. His Italian pen friend,
Vittoria Corradini, introduced him to the Ferrania camera and explained its
use, which greatly deepened his technical knowledge.
In 1957, Guruswamy joined the postal
service, starting as a stamp vendor and later becoming a postal assistant. At
that time, he still could not afford a camera of his own. In 1962, he married
Kokila of Tenkasi. His passion for photography truly blossomed after he joined
the Army Postal Service on deputation in 1971, having cleared an exam in
Tiruchirapalli. During training in Nagpur, he bought his first camera—a
second-hand Russian-made Lubitel-2. Soon after, his posting took him to
Akhnoor, on the Jammu border along the Chenab River, where his photographic
journey truly began. Impressed by his talent, the postal director in Delhi not
only appointed him as the official photographer of the Army Postal Service but
also granted him permission to take civilian photographs.
From then on, Nikon
cameras became his lifelong companions. Starting in 1972, he owned and used
models ranging from the Nikon FM and F3 to the D700, D610, D750,
and most recently the mirrorless Nikon Z7 II.
By 1974, Kokila and
their daughters, Jayanti and Meera, joined him in Delhi. While Kokila
shouldered the family responsibilities, Guruswamy focused entirely on
photography. His postings later took him to Shillong, Shimla, Nagpur, and
finally back to Delhi. After completing his deputation in 1990, he rejoined the
civil postal department and settled in Noida.
In Noida, he thrived
as an associate photographer with APJ School. He also worked with the Hospital
Services Consultancy Corporation of India and served as the official
photographer for Tamil Nadu Bhavan and Kerala House in Delhi.
His passion for
philately and numismatics was equally fruitful. His stamp collection grew to
around 40,000 pieces, including rare mint issues of Queen Elizabeth II.
Notably, ten card proofs of an 1857 George Washington stamp fetched him ₹1
lakh at a Robinson Law Auction in England in 1986—enough to purchase a
house in Noida. His coin collection included rare pieces from Rajaraja
Chola’s era and cardboard coins from Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Germany,
many of which he later sold in Melbourne.
Unlike most who migrate abroad in youth, the Perumal couple’s journey to
Australia began late. In 2006, at the age of 68, Guruswamy went to Melbourne to
care for his ailing daughter Meera. After securing permanent residency in 2008,
he and Kokila faced initial struggles in finding work. Refusing to depend on
their children, Guruswamy turned to photography once again.
He began covering Indian community events
in Melbourne, which soon led to private assignments. His work reached the Consulate General of India in Melbourne
in 2009, marking a turning point. From then on, he became a sought-after
photographer for community events, cultural programs, and magazines such as Indian Art and The Indian Sun. When Saravana Bhavan opened
its Melbourne branch, it was Kokila who lit the inaugural stove. Their
prominence in the Indian community grew, and in 2012 Guruswamy was honored
among fifty Indians in Melbourne who had excelled in their fields.
Today, the couple
holds Overseas Citizen of India status, with lifetime visas and rights to
own property in India. Yet, they prefer to remain in Australia, where senior
citizens receive excellent healthcare, pensions, and concessions, along with
dignity and respect. In contrast, visits to India often feel overwhelming,
weighed down by systemic inefficiencies and the indifference toward elders.
Now, even as his
fingers tremble with age, Guruswamy still lifts his Nikon Z7 II with
joy, clicking portraits with the same youthful passion. When they left our home
for the airport, they looked less like an elderly couple and more like two
spirited companions ready for another journey together.
May their lives,
enriched by photography, stamps, and coins, continue beyond a century—a
testimony to passion, resilience, and love.
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