House of Hobbies - 1 -- Ramsingh Thakur : Cooking coins

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to
peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...

Ramsingh Thakur : Cooking coins

Say Ramsingh Vijaysingh Thakur, and a lordly image of a broad-shouldered, mustached man wearing a rich Sherwani and posing with imposing an eagle-like bird for a portrait enters one’s mind. But our short-heighted, average-built version of ‘Thakur Sahab’ came in a simple pink cotton shirt and black trousers. In his two-room ‘mansion’ at Sakkardara, Thakur Sahab preserves his collection of coins and currency notes, a major part of which, according to him, comes from his family business -- an ‘untitled’ food stall at Raghuji Nagar, near Kamla Nehru College.

“We are famous for Chana-Poha, Samosa, and Bhaji Wadas. I collected many coins while running stall,” says Ramsingh, the only son of a cook couple Vijaysingh and Chandrikadevi. Ramsingh’s collection has almost every coin released in India since 1835. He also has Indian currency notes. RBI’s One rupee note, now outdated, used to have signature of India’s Finance Minister on it. Ramsingh has one rupee notes right from 1950 to recent times, featuring signatures of all Finance Ministers of the country.

Otherwise silent, Ramsingh starts speaking fluently in typical ‘KIlla’ tone as soon as we switch over to ‘coins’. “Fascination for coins was from childhood. I used to go to Itwari’s popular Shanivar Bazaar with Aai. Once she purchased a few coins from Ibrahim Khan, a local merchant, and handed those over to me. All started right there recalls Ramsingh. From then on, he started collecting coins in a box. However, it took a form of proper hobby when he visited the collection of late Arvind Ambhaikar.

Now, Ramsingh has properly-arranged albums and paper reproductions of coins with all minute details and history printed. A mere school pass-out, he speaks with an authority on the historical references, themes, and upcoming coins. Ramsingh suggested young numismatists to refer ‘Gullak’, a newsletter especially published by and for coin-collectors.

Interestingly, he has good collection of faulty coins and notes released ignorantly and later called back by the RBI. “A five-rupee coin on Lokmanya Tilak was released recently on which his name was printed as ‘Tilakji.’ RBI called back the coin and released new series with proper name. But before that, the coin was in my collection. Now I have both the coins,” shares Ramsingh. He has several such storied to tell.
No doubt, the collection of this young man is going to become a huge one with time. He may not become a broad-shouldered mustached man and pose with an eagle. But for sure, Ramsingh Vijaysingh Thakur has lots of photo sessions scheduled with his increasing collection.