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OFFTRACK:
MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA
 The
Books Got Her
Captivated
by old volumes she gave up her job-and found a new career
By Natasha
Israni
 |
| Mehta
displays samples from her stock of antiquarian prints |
Would
you give up a stable career in product marketing for a life of chasing
old books and maps? Probably not, unless you are Dilnavaz Mehta. Three
years ago, the 29-year-old Mumbai girl quit her cushy job to indulge her
passion for antiquarian books. Today, her hobby has become a full-time
profession and she heads an organisation that offers services ranging
from finding rare books to restoring and even evaluating old books for
people. It is probably the only one in the country to render such services.
Things took
off gradually for Mehta. She used to collect old books and newspapers,
and people in the neighbourhood got to know. She soon became a source
for books and articles of yore. Then one day a family friend requested
her to find an old volume, and the transition from passive source to active
seeker happened. She was on her way to turning pro when she realised that
there was a niche she could fill. "There are a lot of dealers and
collectors going about the dealing task informally, yet I felt there was
a vacuum for professional work in the field," she says. "No
one that I knew of was taking out catalogues on his collection or providing
details of the objects. I decided to do my bit to change all that."
Now she
has grown from delving into old books to dealing in original prints and
maps as well. The Book Service is a hit with scholars, research students,
collectors and book lovers looking out for particular books; the Restoration
Service has proved useful for those wanting to restore a crumbling, fading
piece. People wanting to know the worth of what they own have made use
of her Evaluation Service. For many collectors, fashion designers, interior
decorators and individual buyers, Mehta's services are a boon that saves
them many mad hours in flea markets and helps them avoid unsavoury experiences
with unreliable dealers. What some of them appreciate most, though, are
the minute details that Mehta goes into while writing brief notes on any
book, print or map in her collection.
A Rare
Awareness: Apart from servicing clients who come to her themselves,
Mehta has also organised three exhibitions in the city showcasing her
antediluvian accumulations. The first one, at Max Mueller Bhavan, featured
books written on India either by German authors or in the German language.
The second, at the David Sasoon Library, was organised on the occasion
of the 150th Anniversary of the First War of Indian Independence and included
costumes and paintings associated with the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. In the third
show at Cymroza Gallery, Mehta displayed books on everything from natural
history to landscapes and costumes.
More than
her exhibitions, though, what Mehta is really proud of is her little contribution
to increasing awareness amongst people. "People just don't value
old objects or even know how they should be maintaining crumbling books,"
she says. "I've taken out a brochure that tells them what rare prints,
old maps and antiquarian books are and what their historical relevance
are. I'd like them to know that acquiring these venerable pieces is akin
to investing in a blue chip company."
The going
hasn't been all that easy. In the course of her quest for antiquities,
she's had to battle chauvinism and men trying to pull a fast one on her.
"And there are still people who call me a dealer in second-hand goods",
she says. What eventually keeps her going is the fact that there are people
who respect her work-seasoned collectors who love to spend hours poring
over the rarities in her collection. And the thought that she is helping
people preserve the links between our present and past. The next step
for the lady? Going the dotcom way and placing her catalogues on the Internet.
But isn't she ever scared that she'll run out of antiquities to stock?
Far from it. Mehta's fear instead is that she'll run out of space to stock
the stuff that she keeps collecting from all over India. Well, here's
someone who's keen to stay forever in the world of crinkly pages of musty
books and sepia-tinted prints of bygone eras.
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