History needs two contributors: the creator and the preserver and without the two it either never gets created or dies an undeserving death. The world is quite appreciative of the creator and honours him well, but often tends to forget the expedient for being able to admire and appreciate the creator. I salute those connoisseurs, collectors and curators of history who have dedicated their lives to preserving so that posterity can relish the marvels of history.
I had the rare fortune of a glimpse through decades and centuries preserved by one of India’s greatest collectors and promoters of art, culture and history: Mr. H.K.Kejriwal. A multi-faceted man, who has lived many lives within one and one who has truly been there and seen it all. He has been a successful business man and also has built institutions such as the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. A man, who has conferred with the highest echelons of the society at one hand and on the other, continuously strived to make a difference to those at the bottom of the pyramid. The journey of his life, where he crossed paths with many greats like the Kennedys, Gandhis, Birlas, Wadias, Tatas, nobel laureates and many great artists and nation builders, awe-inspiring as it maybe has also been well captured and preserved. How many of us will be lucky enough to get sight of the last letter written by Tagore or hand-written letters by Gandhi, or ancient mogul masterpieces of art? Not many. But for the men like Mr. H.K.Kejriwal even the lucky few wouldn’t have the privilege and fortune. It takes immense efforts, dedication, skill and a generous and kind heart to preserve for future generations. To him, it is about giving back to the society and nation while expecting nothing in return as he is a firm believer in this John F. Kennedy quote “ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country”. He not only has a huge personal collection of ancient artifacts, paintings and sculptures some of them dating back to 2-3 B.C, but has donated many to create a great institution of art and culture and a vibrant community called the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bangalore.
George Santayana once said “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Hence those who have observed and studied history are wiser and bound to make fewer mistakes. In the pursuit of wisdom, studying history doesn’t mean immersing oneself in the depths of the ancient world. History can also mean a day ago and hours ago and studying it means closely watching the course that the world is taking. It is this realization that gets this modern age sage to read as many as 9 newspapers a day and keep abreast with the NOW. The bookshelf of this extremely well learned man has space alike for the oldest of the philosophical books and the latest of the modern day management books giving him the widest breadth of knowledge that can dazzle anybody.
Many of us with not so important engagements and not so great achievements often complain about the busy life we lead and how “time flies by”. Many of us complain about the busy metro life we lead and the time we don’t get even to stand for a moment and introspect. But here is a living example of a man who lived the life of a successful businessman, connoisseur, philanthropist, mentor, an institution builder, thinker and even a jockey(who has won a gold medal) and yet had the time to preserve TIME and HISTORY. A poet once said "time taketh away" and the collectors like him are at battle with time to preserve. I wish this hero great health, long life and all the success with the numerous plans he has for future including his vision for a primary school in every village.
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