Bangalore: ‘Malleshwaram’s One-Man-Museum’ speaks about his love-affair with antiques

A fashion designer, a businessman and a collector of vintage goods, Sharath Namburi, 32, is a man of varied tastes. Fondly called ‘One-Man-Museum’ in his locality, this Malleshwaram resident, has a penchant for everything that has antique-value.

Talking about his passion with iamin, Namburi said, “I developed this hobby of collecting things almost 20 years back during my school days. Back then it was stamps and coins that made it to my box of collectibles. But as I grew older, I realised that the real thrill lied in collecting items which are not easily available and bear historical value.”

His modus-operandi is also pretty different, where he does not buy or sell antiques. He barters them. He says, “There are many other people in Bangalore as well as all over the world, who are equally passionate about collecting such treasured items. Thanks to social media, it is a lot easier to track them and also keep in touch with them. So I end up exchanging my goods with people who collect vintage items from all over the world.”

With a proud collection of 186 cameras (each of a different model), 790 watches, 20 wall clocks, seven vintage bicycles, two scooters, a Fiat 1100 Z (the last Italian model to make it to India in 1970) and a tri-cycle, that is 195-years-old and belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad, Namburi’s list has only been growing. “Whenever I go for my business, I make sure that I search for old antiques through the sources I know in the city. I had visited the city market in Hyderabad and purchased an old camera from a scrap-dealer, which I later on realised was a Kodak camera made in 1895.”

Speaking about his most prized possession, a BSA Para trooper (1939-1943) model, he says, “I came across just a frame of an old cycle at a shop once. When I researched about it, I found out that that BSA had made it for the British army during World War II. It’s a folding cycle which the British soldiers used to travel on when they had to pass information from one bunker to the other.”

While he keeps some of his possessions for display in his house, the rest occupy a predominant position in his garment shop. Explaining this, he says, “I want people who visit my shop to notice the beauty of these vintage items.” Even his house is over 70-years old, where he lives with his wife Nanditha and three-year-old son, Tejal. Namburi wishes that his son too follows his footstep and has already collected several mini-cars and a tri-cycle for Tejal, so that he too takes a keen interest in the hobby.

He claims that he spends most weekends cleaning his treasured collections, which includes the 790 watches and 186 cameras. His biggest dream is to set up a proper museum someday, where he will showcase all his precious items for free. He believes that it is most essential for youth today to recognise the worth of these goods, so that more people join him in his endeavour.

For the longer version of the report, click here