BENGALURU:Sharath S Namburi, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur is planning to buy a four-bedroom home just to house his vast collection of antique pieces which include 2,000 wrist watches, 206 cameras, five cycles and one car. “With space being a problem, most of my collection is in cartons, some at home and some at my store. My next venture is to buy a bigger house, with the precise reason of showcasing my antique collection in two of its bedrooms,” Sharath says. The recent additions to his collection are a ceiling fan and 1820 tricycle from the Falaknuma Palace used by Nizam of Hyderabad. “I found them when they were renovating the place,” he says.
The 35-year-old’s interest in collecting antiques goes back to his childhood. He says, “When I bought Big Fun chewing gum, I got a cricket card. So to get more cards, I started buying more chewing gum. This slowly led me to collecting coins, stamps and then watches,” he says, adding that the first watch he owned was a HMT Leo, a gift from his parents when he passed class 5. “Today, I have a piece from each class – kids class which includes tricycles, cycle class, moped class, scooter class and car class. I have a 45cc moped made in France in 1953, 1970 Fiat 1100 Delight Car, a scooter from 1959, a BSA cycle from 1939 that the Britishers used during World War II and a 1901 BSA autocycle with 25cc engine,” he shares.
Fascinated by period pieces, he took up history in college, just so that he could learn about its origins. “I would like to build a walking museum so that the future generation can learn about these antique pieces,” he says. Quite naturally, Sharath’s six-year-old son has also picked up interest in the collection. “He helps me clean my scooters and repair the antique watches. He is curious and asks me questions about them,” he says.