A walking stick given to MV Krithivasan by his in-laws on his wedding day in 1971 is a precious object. And it is a practical tool for the members of this house.
“By God’s grace, I am in good health and have not started using the stick yet, but every time we pick it up to line the clothes, my wife and I are reminded of our marriage,” says 80-year-old Krithivasan.
The three-day wedding was celebrated at the Sarva Mangala Kalyana Mandapam in T. Nagar, which was later converted into an apartment complex.
“A famous eye surgeon runs his clinic and that sometimes takes us there,” says Krithivasan, who works as an oil and gas consultant.
In Hindu weddings, a walking stick is presented as a gift to the groom during a ceremony called Kasi Yatra. The stick, made of pirambhu (cane), was bought from the Rattan Bazaar in Park Town.
“Near a river bank in Chidambaram and in a village in Tirunelveli, cane items were made before being sold in markets,” he says.
Another heirloom that the family is very proud of is a bronze uruli and lotta (measuring vessel) that were used by Krithivasan’s mother until 2002 and were then gifted to his wife.
“The two bronze items were bought in Kumbakonam over 90 years ago as a wedding gift to my mother,” he says.
These bronze items are now used by the family for puja purposes.
A key to the past
John Moses is at a friend’s shop in Kilpauk when this reporter calls him. The 71-year-old hangs out with Kabadiwalls to collect antiques. During one of these visits a few decades ago, he bought a 1912 Chubb lock from a north Indian gentleman who had come to sell it.
“The key was stuck in the lock and I bought it from him. It took me many days to get it out; I had put it in various solutions,” says Moses, a well-known antique collector from Chennai.
The lock, which weighs around five kilos, was manufactured in England by the Chubb company and bears the patent imprint “Queen Victoria London” on one side.
On the back it says “Oakes & Co.”, a company on Mount Road that was in the automobile industry and imported such locks.
Moses finds it very difficult to give up this hobby. He has a number of such interesting antiques on display in his showcase and wants the younger generation to show interest in collecting antiques.
“I want educational institutions to invite antique collectors to give them a lecture about the hobby,” says Moses.
Among the antiques he recently acquired are an English-made steamer trunk and two candlesticks attached to a spring, which ensure that no wax leaks out and the flame burns steadily.
Lines from a postcard
An old diary full of information from the 1950s is locked in an attic in the house of M. Easwaran and E. Kamala.
The couple, who are senior citizens, say the diary is a recollection of the past written by S. Mahalingam.
Among the items hidden between the pages is a postcard written by S. Mahalingam in microscopic handwriting to his son M. Easwaran while he was working in Mumbai.
“The postcard has over 100 lines and conveys many thoughts.
It starts with questions about Easwaran, then it moves on to the economic situation at home and finally to his advice for his son, the importance of staying in touch with relatives, etc.,” says Kamala.
The diary also contains information about the costs of gifts for various family celebrations.
Kamala, a theatre artist, has a hundred-year-old diamond earring that holds a special place in her heart as it has been passed down for several generations.
The license to “listen”
T. Jaisakthivel has a broadcasting license that his parents used in the 1950s. It was necessary to receive radio stations back then. “You had to go to the post office once a year to renew it,” says the lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at the University of Madras.
The blue book, which resembles a ration card, is one of the many heirlooms that Jaisakthivel is proud of. It was issued by the Posts and Telegraph Department of India.
“To renew, you had to buy a royalty stamp that was stuck on the book,” he says.
The professor says that this is special for him as India Post had not issued many stamps at that time. “One of the first stamps was issued on the silver jubilee of All India Radio,” says Jaisakthivel, adding that this practice of renewal was discontinued in the 1970s.
