For around 30 years now, R Mahaveer Chand’s unnamed antique store has been in the business of finding and selling lost treasures, antiques, paintings, curios and furniture. Located in Shantinagar, There is no big board that tells you that you have arrived at the Mahaveer Chand’s antique store. Just bright blue, peeling walls and a couple of tables stacked with all sorts of things, from used microwaves to delicately-painted jugs with elegant spouts. Owned by Mahaveer Chand, this store has heirlooms and valuable items that were pawned off when his parents moved to Bangalore from Rajasthan in the 40s and started a finance business. He started collecting curious and the old discards and soon, he ventured into the antique business full time and continues to this day.
Every room here overflows with treasures, and we’re convinced only Mahaveer Chand can pinpoint where any given item is. Old shelves and showcases are crammed with vintage clocks, cameras, porcelain figurines and even a defeated looking, slightly chipped Jesus nailed to a cross. Move to a narrow room that’s occupied by a towering steel shelf, haphazardly strewn with metal knickknacks. There are miniature chairs that fit in the palm of your hand from the 70s, heavy beer mugs from sports clubs in Bangalore, stout kettles and intricately carved boxes.
In the last room, you’ll find files with stamp papers and memos from the Raj, handwritten notes from British royalty, a music book that features a rare, commissioned portrait of Queen Victoria, and fading newspapers that showcase the 1937 coronation of King George VI. There are also winding gramophones, typewriters, and the Big Red Story Book that’s over three feet tall.