Old curiosities, a history hunter’s mission to salvage a bygone age

Everything from rusty typewriters to vintage cameras can be found at anthropologist Aditya Vij’s home in New Delhi. In an age of new technology and innovative products, walking into his home is like stepping into a time machine. Vij is an avid collector of artifacts, and over the decades, the self-proclaimed “history hunter” has gathered thousands of items that span centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectible he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual’s attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people’s memory. “I try to write that unrecorded history through my collections, through the products, and through whatever relevance and impacts it has had on the society. Every product, or any of its aspect that has existed, has played a role,” Vij says. Over the years, he has collected a wide variety of items. “Every time around that I lay my hands on a product, that is the first thing that comes to my mind—today I managed to save a piece of history which perhaps was never recorded," says Vij. “That is the thing that keeps me going because I try to keep or try to save a piece of history every time that I step out.” Through the preservation of such items, Vij hopes to educate future generations. “I get in a lot of requests from parents that they want to bring in their kid to showcase them that—come we will show you how we used to type a letter, or come we’ll show you how we used to click a picture, or how we used to dial a phone, and kids are shocked,” he says. Vij aspires to create a physical space where youngsters can learn about innovations from the past. “My hope is that I can actually create a proper, bigger-sized museum where I can actually cater to schools,” he says. This article was provided by The Associated Press.