Architect shares how she identified heritage pieces among household items

“Being a trained conservator, I am interested in collecting heritage items. Earlier, we used to curate exhibitions and workshops. Since people are at home and have extra time, this is the best time to document heritage items at home. To give the public an idea of what a household heritage item is I started sharing pictures from my collection on Instagram. My hometown is Karaikudi and my grandfather was a collector. For me, anything that was used by my parents or grandparents is a heritage piece,” says Sivagamasundari.

 So far, she has shared three collectibles — a 1961 bill from Spencer & Co Ltd Madras, a 1949 money order receipt for Rs 25 and a vintage hand fan crocheted by her grandmother. “The fan was crocheted by my grandmother (paternal) and she gifted this to her younger sister at her wedding. Her sister gave this to my mom when she got married. My mom married her cousin.

 So, the fan has come back to the same family. Another valuable from the collection is the money order receipt sent by my grandfather who lived in Nattandiya, Ceylon, to someone here in my native in 1949. I found this and many other letters and diaries in his old trunk box that I retrieved twothree years back,” she adds.