The Madras Heritage Lovers’ Forum put up a fascinating exhibition at the Padma Seshadri School in KK Nagar. Most of the members are past 50, with consultant architect D.H. Rao, who organised and ‘choreographed’ the entire show, being well past 70. More than anything, it was rare commitment on display, a passion for a city and its heritage.

The forum is made up of Rao, V. Prabhakar, Winston Henry, S.A. Govindaraju, John Moses, Lazer, Roland Nelson and Hemant Chopra. Some of them were there throughout at the three-day event, standing for the most part in a hall without the airconditioning system turned on.

Venkatesh, one of the passionate collectors (see text)..

Govindaraju is 80 years old, but his passion for old books and magazines hasn’t diminished a bit. He has been collecting them for more than four decades and has over 5000 books and 10,000 magazines, paper clippings and advertisements. A retired labour law consultant, he runs a small garage (Rare Books, R.A. Puram, 2nd Main Road) where he sells these books. What is remarkable is that he is able to identify each of the books just by the look of it – including its author and publisher’s name, even the date of publication.

According to John Moses, who had a striking display of lamps, kerosene was first imported to Madras by Best & Company in 1879. It was sold in tins by the brand names Chester and Monkey. With the import of kerosene from abroad, import of lamps from England, Germany, Hungary, France, Japan and the United States followed.

Moses and Winston Henry (who helps put up aquariums and aviaries) have a passion for collecting anything old. Moses said his collection of old lamps, watches, pens and cycles was so large that there was hardly enough space at his home in Kilpauk to keep them. “My family just manages to tolerate me,” he said.

Winston said just about the same thing. The passageways in his house are lined with large containers filled with old books. He had brought along the 1870 edition of Francis Buchanan’s Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, published by Higginbotham and Company, Madras (187?). The pages were almost falling apart and the years had taken its toll – but you were taken to another world just by grasping the book.

Another participant who merits special mention was Venkatesh, an attender at the Padma Seshadri School. He has been an avid collector of coins and has always sought an outlet to exhibit them. Two years ago, he came up with a similar display (see picture). School duties have not blunted his enthusiasm for his hobby. His is an example many should follow.

These are the people who make Madras Week what it is. They toil hard all day long, expect little publicity, prefer to keep a low profile, are happy with even the smallest word of appreciation, and treat every person with dignity.