THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As you enter G Santhosh’s house, you will come across many valuable things which were used some 100 years ago. He has been collecting precious things and decorating his house with all kinds of valuable and items used in the past, be it coins, books, newspapers, weapons.
It has been more than 14 years since Santhosh has been collecting antiques and his house is a treasure trove of all kinds of antique collections. From timepieces, a steel ballot box used for the first general election after Independence to a fossil wood more than two crore years old. Everything has been treasured by Santhosh in his house ‘Puthan Veedu’ which has been transformed into a museum.
Santhosh says he was always interested in collecting things. “When I was in school, I had a hobby of collecting coins and sticking it in my notebook,” he says. “When I grew up, I continued my hobby and people started contacting me through Facebook and some even came to me and gave me antiques and rare collections they had.”
He has more than 2,500 antique collection which includes coins, stamps, sculptures, knives, weapons. One of the most interesting pieces in his collection is a Kuruchiya bow and arrow which is claimed to have been used by the Kuruchiya tribes against the British in the Pazhassi war. He was presented this by a ‘karnavar’ (elder person) of the tribe from Wayanad at a function at Adoor. An 1818 emblem of the East India Company, kerosene headlight of a vintage car, ‘chakra palaga’ used a long time ago in Travancore to count coins, a weighing scale of the 1800s, an array of antique locks and a measuring pot of the Chola period are some of the major attractions in his museum.
Besides these, he has an antique weaponry collection which is the Sivagangai boomerang, which the warriors from the past Ramnad Kingdom used against the British. The claim is that about 750 soldiers on the British side were killed using this weapon.
The collection also has the first radio brought out by HMV, a postcard of the East India Company and a harmonica seen in the Malayalam film Neelakuyil. He has a collection from the smallest to the biggest note so far. The unique thing about his note collection is he has collected the notes based on the serial number which matches the date of birth of all presidents and vice-presidents of India. Santhosh collected some antiques by even paying people from the amount that he got from doing interior works in other houses.
He along with his friends Siby and Shine have started a museum called ‘Travancore Heritage Museum’ in Adoor which is a treasure house of old coins, sculptures, portraits and mural paintings. One such portrait is the centuries-old Queen Victoria’s portrait drawn on animal skin. The museum is open to everyone and Santhosh says, “People can come, see and learn about history. Many people have visited my museum and have done research on different antiques.”
Santhosh entered the Arabia book of records because of his collection. He is also a magician by profession and is also involved in many pro-environment activities. In 10 days, Santhosh is going to start his next museum called ‘Sila Museum’ in Kottarakkara.