Though he also brought Mars chocolate bars and Star Wars action figures, the Polaroid was the star attraction. My brother and I revelled in it, but broke it a few weeks later.
In the summer of 1980, a modern marvel arrived in my family home in Colombo. Uncle Clarence brought it from New York.
It was a Polaroid camera. The gadget looked like a sleek, flat book when closed and unfolded into a triangular camera. It could take a photo and develop it in a few minutes. The printed photo used to emerge from the camera. The colours took minutes to brighten.
