Going to the cinema

The other day I went into an old cinema owned by a friend's family. The cinema has not been in operation for 5 years or more.

As we (me, my friend and four mutual friends) made our way together up the dusty stairs to the balcony and then into the interior, where we needed a torchlight to see anything, it was like walking back in time ... entering a forgotten shrine for film ... a museum chronicling parts of our cinema-going history.

It was fascinating for us and extremely nostalgic for my friend.

Reels upon reels of old film (which we each got one or two of) lay around, in boxes, on the floor, stacked away in small rooms ... old Indian movie posters ... years of thick dust settled on every available surface ... cobweb ... an old cinema ticket lying on the counter of what used to be the place to buy refreshments ... clues to a cinematic past.

Haunting. You could almost hear the sound emanating from the speakers ... the voices of movie goers filing in, babbling in the lobby ... their voices echoing 'VORRRRRRRRLUUUUUUUUME" from pit.

Old film reel