Antique shops in Chennai abuzz with young collectors

Antiquing gets trendy as younger people seek the romance of the past by acquiring vintage collectibles. We join the quest

At Moore Market, 14-year-old Gayathri S, is in awe of the old grandfather clock on display. Double her height, the clock’s towering presence and ticking hands are indifferent to the tides of time. Diagonally opposite, 24-year-old Saamarth Agarwal, has his head buried in a tray of British-era coins on display at one of the many vintage shops at the Moore market. “When I feel gloomy, I come here to buy books and look for new articles on display at the vintage shops. I feel that they have a soul in them which is worth preserving,’’ says the graphic designer, as he bargains with the shopkeeper.

Scattering the past, line by line, on his cabinets of ‘curiosity’, is Lateef Mohamad — owner of The Old Curiosity Shop on Anna Salai. What attracts customers here is the shop’s old-world environs — songs of Iqbal quiver in the waning evening light, lyrical ruminations by Rumi, Khalil Gibran and other anonymous poets are handwritten around the shop. Urdu couplet- quoting Lateef and his help Bashir — Hamlet and Horatio of the 80-year-old shop, don’t just sell their wares but also nostalgia and the aesthetic of antiquated years. 

From Kashmiri walnut woodwork tables, scrolls of old orders passed by the Indian Supreme Court, knives, daggers, vintage cameras, vinyl records and an enviable collection of Tamil and English comics are only a handful of collectibles on display. Holding a wedding portrait of King Charles and Princess Diana from 1981, 18-year-old Ruchi Karnani exclaims, “The shop transports me to a different era. Every time I am here, I lose track of time”

Thirty six-year-old antique hunter Prathap Ravishankar frequents smaller, lesser-known antique shops in the city. “Jamal’s Corner Shop in Pudupet and Puratana in Maduravoyal are treasure troves,” he says. Of late, he has acquired a colonial era fine bone crockery set, a table with a Belgian glass swivel mirror, an old painting with Mughal era inscriptions and a folding chair from his search around the city.

“Further away, in Spencer’s Plaza is Collector’s Paradise. Shopkeeper Inder Jain, is seated underneath a vintage Dutch clock. The clock has a replica of the Greek Titan Atlas, situated on its crown with the Dutch phrase Nu Elck Syn Sin (to each his own) inscribed on it. “A lot of young adults come to our shop looking for old HMT watches,” says Inder. But what intrigues his customers the most are coins which he claims are from the Chola dynasty. Although the articles do not come with any proof of authenticity – goodwill – an unwritten certificate of quality helps the shop thrive.

As more young people look for artefacts, their search is emblematic of a continual conversation between the past and the present. Prathap believes, “What intrigues us is the amount of character each object brings to the room.” With time, nostalgia continues to open its doors and windows to a country with no present, only the past.