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The best collectors are the curious sentimentalists. My older cousin is one of them. He throws away nothing and for 35 years, he has accumulated an eclectic mix of things that takes you back in time — a black and white Nokia phone more durable than Thor’s hammer, a floppy drive with Super Mario World on it, rare stamps from Lithuania, hand-made love letters he got in school, and more such unique items in his unique version of Pandora’s box. Now, imagine his collection and multiply it by a thousand times. Such is the vastness and diversity of the collection amassed by Kolkata's renowned treasure collector, Sushil Kumar Chatterjee.
"I started with collecting stones. I was fascinated by their odd shapes and picked up pebbles from the streets and woods. Then I developed a fancy for old items."
Sushil Kumar Chatterjee, in an interview with Hindustan Times
Sushil Kumar Chatterjee, more popularly known as 'Nokubabu' was born in 1927. He had a strong fondness for vintage objects, which sparked his interest in collecting antiques from a young age. Growing up, he took on various roles in village theater, Bengali cinema, and part-time jobs in trading companies. However, throughout all these years, he remained dedicated to his hobby of collecting old items. His collection is diverse and includes treasures such as a pocket microscope from 1912, a Swiss-made stopwatch produced by ROCAR in 1930, an 18th-century British Indigo Planter calling bell adorned with a cut-glass diamond, a compass from 1901, a sundial clock used by the Australian navy during World War I, buttons made of sea shells worn by early British settlers in 1777, a 35mm reel projector, gramophones, and other objects of historical significance.
"I just close my eyes and feel transported to a different era. If I speak to them, they speak with me. I can't express the feeling in words."
Sushil Kumar Chatterjee, on how his collected objects hum with life, in an interview with Hindustan Times
In the year 2021, Nokubabu passed away at the age of 94, having lived a full life. His son, Goutam Chatterjee proudly took on the mantle of his father. He enthusiastically embraced the hobby and not only preserved his father’s beloved possessions but also made his own world of collections. From cameras to video cameras to pens to recorders, and many more. Together they have nurtured a world, rich with narratives from the pages of history. Goutam resides in his three-story ancestral house near Hatibagan, North Kolkata, where all these cumulative treasures are on display. If you are near and about the area, don't forget to check out this hidden gem of a museum.
