Some handiwork this!

“I think my passion for collecting anything and everything in the shape of hands dates back to 1979, when I casually purchased a hand-shaped opener,” says the 58-year-old hand surgeon. “After that, the collection just grew. The intentions were further fuelled in 1992 when on a visit to Paris a friend of mine took me to his place and showed me his amazing collection that revolved around hands.

“He had a showcase full of beautiful items in the shape of hands, alongwith unusual things like hand-shaped arms of a chair, sandalwood spoons and close-up photographs of hands of famous people. Then, in 1995, when I stopped over at Lausanne in Switzerland, on my way to Helsinki for a conference, I visited this museum that had sculptures of hands in all shapes and sizes. This also inspired me immensely.”

Opening his briefcase, he further fishes out newspaper clippings with articles on hands (like of a boy who had six fingers on each hand) and photographs of places like Sydney’s Bandi beach, where over one lakh life-size plastic hands have been put on the beach’s surface to resemble a sea of hands. He also displays a sachet full of birthday cards sent to him by friends and family over the years, all with pictures of, you guessed it, hands on them.

“This is a purely non-academic collection and I pursue the interest for my own pleasure. Lately, though, I have started making little presentations of the collection on slides, during the interlude in conferences. And almost everyone marvels at the items. I do not think any other doctor in India has a collection like this,” adds Patil.

Contributing in a big way to all this is his teenage daughter, who has also learnt to keep a lookout for objects in the shape of hands and get them for her father. “My most treasured item, though, is this rare little book that I own, The Hand, that has anatomical transparencies of hands. Published in 1952, there are hardly any copies of it in the world. In fact, even the museum in Lausanne had borrowed it from me for sometime,” reveals Patil with visible pride.

The doctor’s future plans include the construction of a huge showcase in his hospital on Laxmi Road, where all his prized items will be put on display on a permanent basis. “I always ask people if they have come across anything interesting in the shape of hands, and if they have, to send it to me. Many have obliged,” he smiles. Now that’s called lending a helping hand to a good cause!