While on a sojourn in Kochi, I happened to visit the ‘Kerala Folklore Museum’ situated at Thevara which claims to be the only architectural museum in Kerala which showcases the essence of the life and culture of the common man in the region over the past millennium. George J Thaliath, a former art and antiquities dealer, founded the museum.
As a culture hub which contains an art gallery replete with artefacts and antiques; a folklore theatre where live performances of traditional art forms and cultural activities take place; the ‘Spice Art Café’ where one can experience the authentic culinary taste of traditional Kerala, and the ‘Souvenir Shop’ to buy genuine ethnic antiques and tribal objects and products, the museum is one-of-its-kind that is bound to mesmerize visitors.
The museum is described as a treasure trove of stone, wood and bronze sculptures, ancient terracotta, Stone Age objects, jewellery, paintings, oil lamps, musical instruments, tribal and folk art, wood works, utensils, masks and traditional art forms etc.
Moving around, taking in the aura that the ancient objects emit around the place, the ‘House of Antiquities’ as it is rightly called keeps one spellbound.
The museum is an architectural marvel with its three floors flaunting a blend of Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore styles. The roof of the second floor is breath-taking considering that its wood-carved ceiling weighs almost 60 tonnes with the woodwork restored from old houses.
Let us now move over to Karwar, the coastal town which is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district!
Very few know that the picturesque town was home to a person who redefined the term ‘hobby’ to encompass a whole lot of activities which ultimately turned into a passion for him.
Gopalrao Krishnarao Haldipurkar’s house in Karwar is a landmark by itself. The 131-years old abode however prides itself in the memory of a man who nurtured a penchant for accumulating a rare blend of collections ranging from stamps to playing cards.
Besides being a philatelist and a numismatist, his verve for collecting playing cards, cigarette packets and matchbox labels, to name a few of his pastimes, was apparently matchless. He is also remembered for his collection of Ravi Varma artworks.
Moving closer home, we have the incomparable Maendra Jocelino Alvares of ‘Big Foot’ fame epitomizing everything that is Goan to emerge as the custodian of a land and its customs and traditions which would otherwise be lost to posterity.
Single-handedly driving a campaign that aims to instil a sense of belongingness amongst Goans and bridging the gap between the region’s ancestral culture and modern lifestyle, Maendra’s has been a relentless crusader against the land’s capitulation to the ravaging ‘outside’ influence.
His creation of a ‘miniature’ Goa of yore where visitors are given a glimpse of Goa as it was a few decades back, the ancestral house, and the laterite sculpture of Sant Mirabai projects that facet of a personality blessed with an artistic prowess which helps him create stunning visuals with a stroke of his brush and give shape to stones with his chisel and hammer.
But again, it is his huge collections of figurines, Lord Ganesh idols, crosses, prayer beads, Holy icons, a few statues of St Francis Xavier, and some prints of old picture postcards that lend essence to his very existence as a person who does not allow his curiosity to be satiated by the mundane.
He has put together a large collection of crosses of different shapes, sizes and colours, sourced and collected from different corners of the world. Along with the prayer beads, the museum exudes an aura of sanctity about it.
Witnessing the splendour of over two thousand crosses under one roof is something that could only be called a divine experience. For Maendra, a cross is ‘a singularly influential representation of the religious belief and is recognized by all nations, notwithstanding its acceptance’.
What is more, his wife Maureen boasts of a collection of a little over five hundred varieties of salt-and-pepper shakers! A typical case of the fad rubbing off on the better-half!
But what exactly makes collecting things a passion for such people!
The explanation that ‘people collect things for a variety of reasons, including personal pleasure, a desire to learn and gain knowledge about a specific subject, to connect with their past or identity, to build a community around shared interests, to potentially increase financial value, and sometimes as a way to manage stress or find emotional comfort’, should serve to be a satisfactory one.
One generally associates the collection of priceless gems and arts with the more affluent in the society who indulge in these pursuits purely for the status and prestige it brings them.
However collecting can also be a way to express personal interests and create a sense of meaning in life.
This could possibly be the motivation that has enhanced the passion for collecting amongst such people who have gone ahead with their pastime with single-minded devotion.
For the curator of the “Kerala Folklore Museum’, the value of traditional art became more than its material value. The vision to spread the knowledge in its real form became his motto. His home of antiquities, his museum, like any other place of worship, is his ‘Temple of Art’.
If as prominent a lawyer as G K Haldipurkar could take out time from his busy schedule to devote a few hours to actively pursue a pastime that gave him immense pleasure, the passion for his hobbies need no special elaboration.
Meanwhile, although his role as the uncrowned ‘Cultural Ambassador’ of Goa leaves him hardly any time, Maendra Alvares very candidly admits that, “Collections for me are a simple way to keep a visual record for posterity, a small part of our ethnicity.”
