City students go old school, take a fancy to hobbies

In this day and age, finding someone, especially a young student, whose nose isn’t buried in his/her smartphone or other similar gadget would be nothing short of a wonder. So, it comes as a pleasant surprise that there are still a few for whom technology isn’t everything, and who find pleasure in old-school habits like pursuing hobbies .

Shoe paradise

At 50 pairs, Manan Malu’s collection of shoes may not rival that of the late Imelda Marcos, but the fact is that the 17-year-old student from Christ Junior College only collects sneakers. “Once when I was in London with my family, I saw a huge queue in front of a shoe store and I got curious. It was the launch of a limited edition series. After I got my first pair of sneakers, I fell in love with shoes and wanted to add more to my collection. This has also become a hobby because of my love for hip hop. These days, I make sure to skimp on all my other expenses to save up for my next pair. Buying sneakers is not easy and is definitely not cheap. So, once I ran out of budget, I started dealing in limited edition shoes that I would procure from overseas sellers. The money I make from that is invested in sneakers for my personal collection,” says Manan, adding that his family initially thought that he was crazy. “But once they realised how much I like collecting shoes, they understood my passion. I haven’t sold a single pair of shoes from my own collection. I am very emotionally attached to them. I spend every Sunday cleaning and arranging them and ensure that they are in perfect condition,” he adds. So what does he plan to do with his collection? “I want to have a walk-in sneaker closet. Eventually, though, I want to design a sneaker for a company,” he says.

‘Tag’ging is fun

For Archana Renjal, a student of Center for Management Studies, Jain (deemed to be) University, collecting price tags from clothing has been a hobby for almost five years. “I have over 100 of them now. My dad travels a lot and since he knows my obsession with tags, he makes sure he gets me something with a very different tag each time. Now I have tags from many countries, thanks to him. It’s an unusual hobby, but I always felt that stores and companies put so much effort into making these tags. I find the different designs and shapes very fascinating; some have beautiful lettering on them, while others are embellished. In fact, over the years, I’ve become very possessive of my tags,” she says. So what does she plan to do with these tags? “I want to put them all up on a wall — some of them are very pretty,” says Archana.

Coins and currency galore

Diksha G Nayak, a 21-year-old student from NITTE Meenakshi Institute of Technology, has been collecting currency notes and coins since Class 4. “My collection is mostly from my travels with family or from near-and-dear ones, who bring back coins and currency for me from the countries they visited. My most prized possession is currency from Hong Kong. I have currency from different countries, as well as old Indian notes that are not in circulation anymore. It’s strange to see the way currency has changed in our own country. The best part about collecting coins is that not many people my age indulge in it. I think they are precious, especially older coins. My hobby also gives me an understanding of how currency has changed over the years,” she says. Diksha now wants to add some euros and dollars to her collection. She also shares she was very protective of her coin collection as a kid. “If someone wanted to see my coin collection, I would count it before and after showing it to them (laughs). I was that paranoid,” she explains. Would she ever auction or trade her coin collection? “Never. I have invested so much in this that I want to continue doing this,” says Diksha.

Stamps from all over the world

For Mayank Majumdar, an 18-year-old student from Center for Management Studies, Jain (deemed to be) University, his passion for collecting stamps began when he was just six years old. “When I began collecting stamps, my dad told me that I should start only if I intended to sustain the habit. Back then, I didn’t understand what he meant, but I now realise why he said that. Today, I have about 250 stamps from across the globe. Since my father travels extensively, he gets me stamps from all his trips,” says Mayank. However, because the practice of writing letters has slowly been replaced with technology, getting newer ones to add to his collection has been tough. “Since not many people write letters or use postal services like before, the opportunity of getting stamps has reduced. Unlike before, now I don’t go out of my way to procure a stamp from the post office, but if I know someone is travelling abroad, I ask them to get me a stamp from there,” he says.

Green thumbs to the fore

For David KR, 20 and A Anikesh Jain, 20, from Center for Management Studies, Jain (deemed to be) University, their passion for gardening began with their families. David, who has more than 30 pots at home, says gardening is an activity that helps him relieve stress. “I took up gardening recently and found it therapeutic. My mum would do it and I picked it up from her. Initially, my friends made fun of me, but later on, when they realised that I was good at it, they started supporting me. In fact, such has been my influence that one of my friends has taken up gardening now.”

Anikesh says that he’s been lucky that he has friends who also spend time with plants.” Not many students my age take up gardening as a hobby. But I have many friends who share this interest and have been supportive of my hobby. From doing research about potting mixtures to understanding the whole process of growing plants, this hobby has made me very patient and responsible. It is fun when you get to grow your own fruits and vegetables,” says Anikesh, who plans to expand his hobby to get more produce.