THE PRESERVER OF HISTORY : ADITYA VIJ
All of us have collected several things in life.Whether, it is a collection of childhood pictures,games,movies,books etc.It is because of the affection and love with these things,But have u ever imagined to collect old match boxes, old transistors,tin boxes,vintage cars or things that seem wastage to you?
lets meet a new delhi resident, 43 year's old anthropologist ,businessman and a teacher in professional institutes such as bharti vidyapeeth university mr. Aditya vij.Vij has collections of 4000 plus matchbox labels,80 plus tin boxes,3000 books,176 vintage and classic cameras,15 vintage and classic cars and a lot of old and vintage things.
Vij's own house contains 176 vintage and classic cameras where the oldest one dates back to 1890’and many from early 1900 to 1930’s and 1940’s.
Collection includes many iconic brands from London & stereoscopic Co to Norton to Agfas across decades to Mamais to Bell and howell to zeiss to welta to adox to solida to Rolleiflex to rolliecords.
Books collection goes to about 3000 books from 1800”s to early 1900’s.Collection offers books by great authors like kiplings, rabindranath tagore, emma Watson ? to titles like the robinsn cruso / the gardner / under the deodars to Vishnu puran.Preservation also includes American comics starting from 1940’s to 1970’s and have a huge no of amar chitra kathas to Indrajal comics to the Indian comics of 1970’s / 80’s and 90’.this also includes a big collection of archies and tinkles.
Collection includes 8 classic two wheelers,the oldest ones being vespas Italian 1960’s to lambrettas of 1960-70’s ; to a BSA Bond to vijay super and lamby polo,some vintage bollywood related stuff and about 19 vintage bollywood posters which date from 1940’s to 1980’s .Preservation includes synopsis copies of the movies sold in the 1950’s and 1960;s and Certified fossils and pre historic man tools dating to 1000’s of years old.
"Most collectors I ever came across in my life have had a unifocus ; that is that they would do only one category and put it together, I never got hooked up to one category and all that is old looked gold and hence “ the collector of the world “ got coined up" says vij.
Old is gold
43, history preserver believes in to save the past."I in my small Endeavour want to put together the story of our past, which was so beautifully crafted by nature and man together. I want people to see how it was and how it has changed Its been a discovery cycle of fascination, a self exploring; new category adding ongoing cycle, each one throwing bigger surprises and even bigger charms along the way of its exploration" says vij.
Vij's motive is to create a museum where others will find footprints of human development and nature."I have dawned many a hats in my life , till date from being a corporate slave , to being an entrepreneur , to being a professor to being a social mobilize , to being a collector , the to do more spirit has never been ebbed. The latest hat , I am looking forward to wearing is the one of a curator ; in my own private museum –Inshaallah the day shall soon arrive . I am on to make it happen" says vij. .
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