Haul of fame

Could your home hold an artefact of national importance? Under the Har Ghar Museum initiative, a matchbook, vintage pencil, bicycle lamp and ancient coin all qualify as treasures. As one of the collectors featured in the archive puts it: ‘They are like the roots of a tree, without which the branches would not exist’

- GowriS

How does one protect and preserve heritage, in a country where the local temple idol likely predates Ancient Rome, churches still stand that are older than the United States, and people — everyday people — casually hold on to ancient heirlooms, artefacts, jewellery and more?

Websites and museums, memory projects and coffee-table books have helped.

Then, in May, the union ministry of culture launched the Har Ghar (Every Home) Museum initiative, in an attempt to document the artefacts preserved in homes across the country, and in the troves painstakingly put together by India’s many collectors.

The programme was rolled out via the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) in Kolkata. They have scanned hundreds of submitted photographs, videos and documents of authenticity, to build an online repository of rare artefacts (with a plan to rope in local museums across the country too).

Of the 154 artefacts and personal collections submitted so far, social-media content for 18 has been posted, on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube. A website and an independent social media identity for the initiative are in the works too, says NCSM public relations officer Satyajith NSingh.

Here are some of the collectors who have made the list.

Write the other way

Souvik Roy, 61, a retired businessman from Kolkata, is primarily a philatelist. His collection is made up of stamps, coins... oleographs, lithographs... and pencils. Somehow, the pencils have ended up being his rarest and most treasured items, he laughs.