Octogenarian Vinayak Natu is a relieved man now. Just last week he donated his vast collection of nearly 260 video cassettes and 220 enlarged photos of Hollywood stars to the National Film Archive of India. Parting, to him, seemed inevitable. He was unable to take care of the wealth that he had painstakingly collected over the past 70 years. ?This, I thought, was the best I could do to save it from being lost in oblivion. You have to be mad to pursue such a hobby. My son has no interest in it,? he says.
The hint of relief and disappointment in his voice is unmistakable. You soon know why. What started as a hobby at the age of 10, developed into a passion before he realised it. ?1915-1970 was the golden era of Hollywood. Pardon my bias because I am particularly fond of classic cinema,? he says. But from where did he manage to source the rare classics? ?My niece, settled in Melbourne, helped. They broadcast classics on TV there and she was kind enough to record them for me. In 1987, I went to Melbourne for a month and did nothing except watching and recording movies,? he says. ?It was possibly the best time of my life.? The rest of the collection largely happened with the help of his dear friend who worked at the Maharashtra Films Division. His enviable collection hardly leaves one with any doubts ? a series of live footage of World War II, an 80-minute film of Mussolini being shot? His ?personal favourite but is The Picture of Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde?s classic novella?. He might have lost count of the number of times he has seen it, but is sure of ?the immense pleasure I presently derive from the vast collection of Hollywood books that keep me company.? Meanwhile, the Limca record he got for his collection, which is still unchallenged, sits pretty.
Rajnish Laxmikant Karnik too is a record holder. And not just for a thing or two, but for collecting over a hundred different items! Right from autographs to matchboxes to chocolate wrappers, seashells, flight tickets, biscuit wrappers?. ?My cousin and my grandfather handed over their collection of autographs to me. I was in school when I wrote my first letter, requesting cricketer Sunil Gavaskar for an autograph. And when he replied, I was more thrilled than I can express.? There was no looking back then. ?Though the success rate of getting autographs by post is only 20%, I continue to write hundreds of letters,? he says enthusiastically. With 200 autographs in his kitty, his enthusiasm is well justified.
He has plenty of people to thank for the rest of his collection ? friends, family, and relatives. ?They get me bags full of all sorts of wrappers. We have got our kachda for you ? they tell me.? And along with his uncle, an avid collector of matchbox labels himself, he ?combed the Chennai roads endlessly, collecting boxes thrown away by people.? At one point, his average collection reached 50 labels per day! It indeed must be valuable for a kitsch collage. The passion possibly runs in his family. His sister, Meghmala N Gadkari, collects recipes. Karnik himself inherited architectural lithographs (dating back to 1888) from another of his uncles. Presently Karnik, a civil engineer by profession, tries to make time for writing a book on seashells.
Meanwhile, he has institutionalised his passion. The International Collectors? Society of Rare Items he founded in 1995 with just six other members has more than 100 members today. Twenty-three of them have Limca records to their credit and one, Neelimkumar Khaire, even holds a Guiness record for collecting miniature wine bottles! The Society claims to have displayed the dinosaur?s egg and even the complete history of Indian paper money for the first time in India and all free of cost.
Sincere efforts must precede a good collection. Rajendra C Shah shares how hard he toiled for his collection of cancelled stamps. ?I used to go to the post office at eight in the morning to queue up for the new stamps. Then and there I posted them to myself so that they reached me with the seal,? he says. The practice has continued for the past 25 years. He ?almost has all the stamps issued after 1860?. For the past four years he has been helping school students develop this hobby. ?I have even opened a small library for them. It has at least one book on every possible hobby.? A befitting legacy, undoubtedly.
That of Vijay B Agarwal?s only matches his collection. A Limca record holder, Agrawal has nearly 50,000 stamps of 650 countries and other entities ? most of which no longer exist. Ever heard of Catalonia and Patmo? He not only has their stamps but can also brief you on their history. Be it the Black, Red or Blue Penny ? he seems to have it all. His collection also boasts of coins from 240 countries ? most found after hours of search in Delhi?s Jama Masjid area.
How exactly does the psychology of a collector work? ?It?s simple,? explains Dr Samir Parikh, psychiatrist, Max Healthcare. ?Collecting gives a person the stimulation of doing something nice. It?s a hobby they get hooked on to in the 0-10 age group. Later it becomes like a stress buster for them because they can relate to it and derive pleasure from indulging in it,? he adds. Their hobby can be well termed ?pure passion?. They are neither doing it as investment, nor for fame. Hopefully, one day their entire collection may take the form of a museum ? just like the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford that opened in 1683 to take a private collection to the public domain.