Chennai's majestic British architecture and roads have been witness to history over tide and time. Amid the bustling junction of Anna Salai exists a 60-year-old “curios” shop. Curious? If the massive structure of Spencer Plaza has caught your eye, then you might not notice this place. But look around closely, a quaint old shop wedged between two box-shaped buildings that reads “Old Curiosity Shop”. It is exactly that which attracted me to this shop — curiosity.
Love for antiques
“Curios” is a slang word for articles that bring about a curiosity in you. And Faisal Lateef grew up around these boggling array of “curios” and collectibles. His grandfather, Ghulam Mohamad, bought the shop from a British way back in 1951.
“After living in the Bombay and Kolkatta of 1947, he ended up in Chennai. It started off with just a handicraft shop catering to foreigners,” says Faisal with a smile. With time they moved on to precious stones and shawls. “He figured that rather than going and selling these at the harbour, our best bet was to have a place of our own and sell things”.
One of the oldest shops in South India, the Old Curiosity shop was then continued by his father, M. Lateef, who found himself bonding to the shop too. Faisal explains how his father used to travel to Bombay to collect underground rock music records. The shop is stacked with old rock music records, memorabilia from the decades gone by and a million other miniature toys.
“Some of these are personal to us and we just cannot sell them,” explains Faisal. As I glance up the shelves, I notice porcelain clocks and bronze idols that are almost 100-150 years old.
“We had a German clock that was damaged beyond repair. But we worked on it and restored it back to its original shape. How can we not? It was almost 50-60 years old,” he remarks.
Every time I turned around, I found something new to stare at. It's impossible to stand in this shop and not crouch to take a closer look at something you just spotted. He took out a handmade carpet and made me stand on it to feel the smoothness of the fabric. “This is how soft silk on silk carpets are. Families have stopped doing it so its value has increased and needless to say, it is a dying art,” says Faisal.
There was something from every country. London clocks, Tibetan masks, African walking sticks, pashminas and dazzling jewellery that would take your breath away. He showed me around patiently, taking out tiny collectibles from far end of cupboard and shelves; “I don't know how many items are there in the shop. My father does. But not me!” he says with a laugh.
He goes on to explain how the trade works. “We don't sell for cash. We follow a bartering system of sorts where the other collector knows exactly what our collectible is worth. A collector can talk to another collector very well”.
Trade lessons
For Faisal, selling is not important. It is about the value and the standard of the quality that matter. Having a relationship with the client is the most integral part in this trade. “This is something my father has taught me. Striking a personal chord with customers and clients so that they feel comfortable around us”
Stacked in the back of the shop is the book collection of a true rock fan. “Gods of Guitar” and Floyd CDs crowd his shelf. “I have been listening to rock since I was a child,” he shares with a grin. Big names like Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vinod Kambli and the royal family of the 1970's from Europe have visited this quaint old shop. Talking about his love for the city, he explains how Chennai has always been home for him. “We have always been here.”
As I left the shop, out of curiosity (of course) I asked him how much a particular wooden clock cost. And he replied, “That's actually not for sale. It's our clock!!” Something's are priceless indeed.
Rehna is a M.Sc. Visual Communication student at Loyola College.
