Wondering Wanderer: All Things Old and Pretty

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Peek-a-boo in a world infested with antiquity.

Vintage things are fascinating! Be it a tattered old book with its yellowed pages and doggy eared cover or an old Bajaj scooter the Uncle next door owns, each has a story of its own; a history; an owner. Once upon a time these things used to be revered. They used to be considered the ultimate manifestation of technology and human capability but in the present they stand at an even exalted position, for it is a matter of great status and prestige to own an antique!

Personally, for me it doesn't really end there- at pride. I love digging deeper and finding out the underlying history and stories of that object and the owner. Some of the stories are really amusing; the quilt of emotions and memories attached to the objects make you travel time. It gives you a peek in to the world when everything seemed very simple but was not quite so.

I love collecting old things; especially the one's that have been in my family are of utmost importance to me. They help me know my grandparents, my ancestors better. Family history kind of spreads itself in front of me like a map, and these small details and memoirs evoked by the antiques, mark it.

I hate it when something old, memorable and valuable is given away. My Grandpa owned this car, a Fiat! MVL512. It was later inherited by my dad, and I remember going on drives in it as a kid. When everyone showed off their Maruti 800s, I drove in a glorifying white Fiat! Then we bought a new car and they sent the old one to our farm for rough terrain use; and later sold it. It made me gloomy. My grandmother later told me that she and Granddad and her children went on many road trips across the country in it. Old Gold got Sold. *pursed lips*

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I have posted below some pictures of vintage objects I possess/came across.

When Bajaj and Yellow become the new 'Cool'. Since the past four years, I see this scooter everyday in college. A guy rides it all around the place and girls gather around him, requesting him to lend them this old geezer once, just for a cool ride.

My Grandpa's possession- SLR Camera Yashica 50mm prime lens from the 70s. My Dad learnt and practiced photography using this in his youth.

My uncle's typewriter! I remember learning to type my name on this as a child. How fascinated I used to be with the sheer thought of someone letting me touch it. Yeah, it was a bigger deal than this laptop I'm currently typing on, ever was! I love the smell of ink and the 'khat-khat' sound of the keys.

This is a Buddha carved out of Bamboo, I came across somewhere.

This chair I saw somewhere the other day made me wonder if Queen Victoria had these for her dining table with an purple velvet cushion of course!

Old and abandoned. I'm sure it stood by the owner, through his times- Harsh and Happy.

I wonder through whose all hands these coins have passed before landing up in my box; the 150 year old half anna coin and that one even older, the small fat one with inscriptions from Shivaji's times.