A gem of a collection

Thus you see an amber with a cockroach embedded inside it. “Experts say that the cockroach is probably 40 million years old,” he claims. “It has been proved that it was only then that certain trees produced the raisins in which these insects would get trapped. The sticky discharge of the raisins would then, over the years, solidify into such ambers.” There is also another amber in his collection – with a mosquito inside, apparently dating back to the same era.

Chandiok then dangles a rudraksha bead at the end of a gold chain. Rather than the usual round shape, this bead has three heads on the side, like a trident that is supposed to represent Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. “This is the rarest of beads and comes once in thousands of years. It’s an ekmukhi and I challenge anyone in the world to come up with a similar one,” he asserts.

The pieces de resistance of his collection, however, are the three conches that occupy the place of pride in his home. “Some years ago, a conch was discovered in the South, which was described as a `very rare maritime phenomenon.’ Called the Dakshinavrutha Sankha, it is used today for the milk abhishekam to Lord Venkateshwara at the Tirumala temple in Tirupathi every Friday. At its discovery, a great deal was written and there were also plans to stud this conch with semi-precious stones as a tribute to its sanctity.

What was so unusual about it was that its whorl was to the right, not the left,” states Chandiok even as he uncovers three huge conches, streaked with vermillion, and places them on the table. And immediately you notice that just like the Tirumala conch, these three also have their whorls to the right! Putting the conches to the ear, one is quite taken aback by the roaring sound emanating from their hollow.

“Listen carefully and you’ll find out that the sound is like an Om,” smiles Chandiok. “All three have come to me from different sources – through a friend or a saint – and are bigger than the Tirumala one.”

The enthusiastic collector then goes on to elaborate on how many a pious have dropped in at his place unannounced, and sans any knowledge of the conches, claimed to have felt certain vibrations in the house. In some cases, they have even marched directly into the little mandir to have a darshan of the sacred shells. I have had the shells for almost 20 years now and even saints like Karve Guruji come here to perform their puja.”

While it is uncanny how all these semi-precious stones and conches have made their way to the Chandiok home as gifts or lucky buys, it is also amazing to note Chandiok’s keen eye, that seems to equip him with an ability to see things in a stone that would not be apparent to anyone else. “He sees faces, figures, outlines that I would never notice. What’s more, he then makes you see them and convinces you that there is Lakshmi’s face in one or Ganpati’s profile in another,” exclaims wife Harjeet.

With the fabulously-hued and -patterned semi-precious stones laid out before you, Chandiok explains how most of them are inexpensive but possess unique individual characteristics. A businessman now, his passion for collecting these stones with a difference goes back some 20 years, much after he took premature retirement from the army. As his collection grew, so did his faith in the healing powers of the stones.

In fact, on any given day, Chandiok sports at least three to four rings with studded stones on each hand. “I also change the rings almost everyday, in accordance to what I am going to do that day,” he adds.

Despite the Chandioks’ best attempts to eschew publicity about their collection, there are many who end up at their Salunke Vihar residence to have a darshan. Many also make desperate offers to buy the items.

“I have had people offer me any amount of money for the stones and the conches but there is no question of my parting with them. They will remain in the family and will pass down from generation to generation. However, we do intend to make a small temple here in the future, where these stones and conches would be kept for public darshan,” he reveals…

…By which time he would have undoubtedly collected many more items to add to his already glittering and fascinating collection.