Except for a few wood logs stacked in his shop, R Jayaraman inspects every piece of antique furniture that he buys from various parts of the country. A specialist in restoration of antique wood furniture, Jayaraman recently sold a 120-year-old bullock cart for Rs 2 lakh. Made out of rosewood, the depleted bullock cart — bought from Thenkasi, 600km from Chennai — was repaired, the brass parts were polished and the wood was restored to give it a new look. Explains Jayaraman, “To our astonishment, those days, our forefathers lived a royal life. Every piece of wood used in any antique furniture is original and no paint coated on it.”With nine years of experience in this field, it’s not just his shop that is filled with antique furniture but his home as well. “Antique products are everywhere, but you need an eye to buy the best one. Most of us still don’t know the value of the antiques. Our forefathers have been very innovative in designing these furniture. Whether it’s a dresser or a table, they have carved out designs that cannot be replicated now,” says Jayaram. The antique restoration specialist, based in Chennai, travels from Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu to Trivandrum in Kerala and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh to buy furniture at a cheaper rate. He then revives and restores them by only varnishing the wood and polishing the spare parts without disturbing the actual design. “The designs that you get from Karaikudi, Kerala, Tirunelveli and Chennai are very intricate and have been manually etched out. For instance, in the bullock cart, the spare parts like the plank is made of pure brass. The bell had been imported from New York,” he explains. “It took three months to finish the restoration of the bullock cart. It’s not just a showpiece.”Sankaran, one of the customers of Jayaram, cites an antique furniture bought by the latter that is going to be used in his house. “Jayaram bought a wooden beam that was used in an old Christian church constructed in 1716. The beam is 24-feet long with a 18 by 16 width, so it would definitely be more than 200 years old. He will be designing my new house with the same wood in one of the pillars.”From being the owner of a petty shop nearby, Jayaraman has now become the favourite antique restoration specialist among the residents of Adyar. He first bought and sold these antiques as a means to make ends meet, but slowly he developed a passion towards them. “I used to collect old stamps and coins when I was young. But I gave them away to a friend, not being aware how valuable they are. Later, I found few antiques when I was travelling and was fascinated with the designs. That’s how this passion grew into a business and now it’s my profession,” says Jayaraman who had earlier sold a 90-year-old marble table for `3 lakh. “Unlike today, those days, our ancestors have used various methodologies to create any tool or a product, all done through manual labour. From a chest of drawer, table to a treasure box, the designing is meticulously carved out according to their convenience.” With various antiques stacked in his shop, you will be surprised to know that every single piece has a history to tell. A treasure box used in the 19th century is assembled in Jayaraman’s shop and is ready to be restored and sold. The interiors of the treasure box leaves one dumbfounded to see how interestingly our carpenters of those times have designed and moulded various shapes with just chisel and knife. Tiny lockers one below the other have been arranged to keep different things safely in the treasure box. “Our tradition is very rich. There are so many things yet to be discovered. We should understand that and start treasuring these products before everything becomes extinct. People who lived in that era have used woods like rosewood, other metals and tools that are not available anymore,” reveals Jayaraman.So what next? “I’m going to Tirunelveli to buy a coach from a local merchant. It is similar to the bullock cart but little luxurious and 150 years old,” he says. (To contact Jayaraman, call 9444311067)
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