He believes he is on a mission to protect the country's history. He has struggled for years to ensure that the bits of the past he has spent a better part of his life collecting, get proper recognition. After working for decades to build up a sizeable collection of coins, currency and antiques Kavadamal Popatlal Gogia, 65, is now in search of a home for his beloved treasure. Born at Habibkot in the Sindh province, Gogia settled with his family at Urulikanchan village in Maharashtra after Partition. Never introduced to formal education, he took to gambling and drinking at a young age. A chance encounter with a sadhu changed his life. "He said that even a bad penny can be useful," he says. The sadhu advised him to start collecting coins, saying that he might even come across valuable ones if luck favoured him.

Gogia holds his coins close to his heart

So Gogia moved to Pune and started doing the rounds of shops, jewellers and flea markets in search of coins. He sold them at Pune railway station and used his profits to buy more coins. Starting off with copper and nickel dimes, Gogia collected nearly 600 kg of coins, including gold and silver ones, within 15 years. He would also meet the beggars outside the Rajneesh Ashram at Pune to exchange Indian coins for the foreign currency they received from visitors.

A remark on the need to preserve the past by the late Indira Gandhi during one of her trips to Pune led him to decide that he would donate his collection to the government. It has not been an easy journey. He has spent the past 15 years in Delhi dealing with bureaucratic roadblocks and frequenting museums. "At times I feel that my life's work has become a burden," he says.

Besides coins, Gogia has added misprinted currency notes, disfigured coins, commemorative coins, foreign currency, medallions, old pens, inkpots, watches and weight measures to his collection. For four days a week, he sets up shop at different places in Delhi. On a good day he earns in thousands and on some days his earnings could be only Rs 100. "I do not sell the more valuable pieces," he says. So how much is his collection worth? "It is difficult to say as there are bound to be fake pieces too," says Gogia. This was borne out when National Museum authorities examined a portion of his collection some time ago and found some fake coins.

Gogia's sources now also include agents of people looking for buyers of antiques. "I sometimes get precious artifacts from people who sell off old stuff thinking they are useless," he says. Besides continuing to add to his collection, Gogia wants to set up an organisation for coin collectors in Delhi. "I still have unfinished business," he signs off.