Roy and Viji’s family home in Chetpet is a treasure trove of artefacts. As the couple welcomes you in, you can’t miss the striking relics all over their home; accumulated over two decades. On one wall of their 1940s home a window sill has been used as a perfect display shelf. The radiologist and his wife, who recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, have collected these antiques over the years.
Roy and his family moved here when his parents, the late Maduram Santosham and his wife, passed away in 1990. The couple decided to build their home around the old-worldly furniture left behind by Roy’s parents. “Each heirloom whispers the stories of past generations,” says Roy.
The couple’s love for antiques has spilled over to the next generation, as their children Ritesh and Susan also now add to the collection. For birthdays and anniversaries, it’s a family routine to visit antique stores and come back with lamps, clocks or brassware. Some pieces catch our eye. A telephone from a bygone era stands tall on a treasure chest varnished with brass edges, with another old-fashioned telephone hanging on the wall nearby. The treasure chest, it turns out, was once a humble rice box in Viji’s parental home. Roy points to two wooden columns in the corner of the living room and verandah; “They are from Palakkad, Kerala, and were cut vertically to make them look like this,” says Viji, whose grandfather’s rocking chair is the latest addition to the collection.
There’s also a thimble collection, which started with a six-piece set from New Zealand. Today, the collection is over 250 pieces. The walls are mounted as with nutcrackers in all shapes and sizes. Viji points out one, a three-piece cracker from Rome, a gift from a friend. Then there is a delicately carved key stand from some regal household. Many pieces have been transformed to make them useful, for instance, an exquisite wooden beam now doubles as mirror stand. Aware of the couple’s love for antiques, friends and family pitch in with gifts.
