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Old is gold
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Banking on an impressive collection of antiques, the City Auction Hall has managed to operate in adverse conditions
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LOOKING AT the place from a distance you tend to think it is just another dingy godown.
But once in walk in and spend a few minutes browsing through what is on display, you change your mind. If the dingy interiors are deceptive, the name board outside is equally misleading.
Entering the City Auction Hall, you wonder if Christie's-type auctions take place here.
If you eagerly look out for the auction bell and hammer, you'll return disappointed. The auction bells last rang here two decades ago.
"For 45 years, auctions were conducted in this place. But, as they have become unprofitable, we do open sales now," says Anish Ashraf, proprietor and third generation businessman from the family.
So, what does the store offer?
Lovers of antiques and old furniture have a lot to look forward here. A musical box (the predecessor of the gramophone), which is more than 100 years old (costing a whopping Rs. 1 lakh), wooden pillars from Chettinad, a 200-year-old French sideboard made of mahogany, antique jewellery, brassware, clocks... the list is endless.
The antiques are housed in eight rooms and the main hall.
"My father used to travel across the country to collect antiques. He also bought articles from demolished houses," he says. Inside the dim-lit rooms, you can find traditional Indian antiques sharing space with famed French, German, British and American ones.
Some of these rare collections have history.
The store has a cupboard from the French Revolution era (If your knowledge of history is poor, there is help on hand. A note stating the origins is put up) and a palanquin and mirror-canopied cot used by the Maharaja of Travancore.
How profitable is the business? "This is not a daily affair and so you have to play the waiting game. Though profits took a hit a few years ago, things have started looking up now," Ashraf explains. Some antiques here also have utility value. The `spirit' iron box and kerosene iron box from the bygone era fall under this category. Ask why the shop still has `Auction' attached to its name and Ashraf says: "People come here because of the brand name. We thought of many names, but decided to retain it. If we had changed the name, we would have probably lost business."
Getting back to the antiques, there are Tanjore glass paintings, prints of Ravi Varma's paintings, pillars of different hues, Chella petti, grandfather and grandmother clocks with a porcelain dial, English cots, radios, fans made of wood and Chinese mud jars.
How about maintenance? "Earlier, we employed 10 persons for maintenance. Now, we have just two. Still, we clean the place once in two days. The articles are shifted frequently to ensure that dust does not accumulate. We undertake this exercise at least 10 times a month," he says.
Some of the collections are not for sale (these are the personal collections of Ashraf's father).
For details, call: 2554222 & 98941-24262.
M. ALLIRAJAN
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