For someone who is a software engineer, T. Balasubramanya Kumar has a different and unique ‘timeline’ to follow at home!
This 45-year-old gentleman has a rare collection of some of the antique clocks and watches from across Europe, US, Japan, and about 1,000 alone from city-based HMT, for the simple reason that he loves the Hyderabad touch.
“My father, the late Satyanarayana worked in HMT. Since childhood, I got fascinated with the varieties of clocks they made,” says Kumar, whose wife Syamala Rupakula is an avid wildlife photographer.
“Definitely, there were days when I started collecting these clocks when my family wondered what purpose they would serve. But as days passed by, they got a better idea of my passion,” he said.
Interestingly, the city has a Hyderabad Watch Group with some of the 30 members from it even being ‘proud owners’ of antique clocks and watches costing close to ₹1 crore.
And, he is also grateful to HMT Collectors Group, which meets regularly every year to upgrade their know-how on the collections. “Definitely, the most challenging aspect is maintenance as sometime I have to wait for months to get the spare parts. I do spend a lot of time to ensure they are functional. For instance, one of my priceless possessions is the Gustav Becker clock (made in Germany) purchased in Netherlands nine years ago for $10, which was made in the late 19th century,” he said.
What do you do with the 1,000-odd watches? “I try to wear each one of them on different days. It is some kind of joy which I cannot explain in words,” he said.
“Yes, my collections are purely mechanical models and not the latest and costly ones,” he said, with a big smile even as he shows the wall decorated with some of the oldest clocks one could imagine.
“To be frank, it is a passion other than spending time with nature and wildlife with my wife, which provides me the right kind of break from the daily routine to be fresh for the regular job,” signed off a visibly contented Kumar.
