‘Gaj mukta’ an enigma in a mystery Ruchika M. Khanna

Ravi’s latest acquisition is a ‘gaj mukta’ or ‘gaj moti’, a three-inch long and six-inch in diameter cylindrical object, which he claims is found in the forehead of an elephant. The ‘gaj mukta’, it is believed, is found in one in a lakh elephants and is known for its aphrodisiac qualities. Just as snakes are sought after for ‘mani’ and musk deer for ‘musk’ (kasturi), the ‘gaj moti’ is obtained from an elephant. This egg-shaped black object has been examined by various geologists, but it remains a mystery. When shaken, it seems that it is filled with fluid. Mr Ravi says he bought it from a sadhu a few days back. For over 40 years, Ravi Bhasin, a property dealer from the region, travelled all over the world and collected antiques. Little did he know that his passion would one day come to his rescue and bail him out of financial woes, especially in sickness.

Ravi, one of the best known antique collectors in the region, has been suffering from renal failure for the past five years. During this period, his business collapsed and he was forced to turn his house into a curio’s shop, selling antiques he had collected during his visits to different countries. “I need at least Rs 20,000 a month for medicines alone. After my savings began to dwindle, I was forced to sell off my collection to provide for my family and pay medical bills,” he says.

Ravi is now collecting ancient coins, artifacts, earthen statues and metalware. He claims that his collection can help rewrite certain aspects of ancient Indian, British and Chinese history and help historians understand several undiscovered historical facts. In his hard days, he is now looking upto connoisseurs to bail him out of financial woes.

“I remember telling my family that I had to attend to some business out of station, and would visit various countries, including China, England, the USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan, besides different places in India, in search of antiques, coins, watches, weapons, furniture items, musical instruments, paintings, ‘shammadaans,’ bravery medals, silverware and crockery,” he reminisces.

His vast collection of antiques is visible right from outside his house in Panchkula. In fact, the outer walls of the house are adorned with terracotta sculptures of Shiv and Parvati, Ganesha and Kuber, belonging to the 7th century BC. Three rooms in his house are stacked with rows of these antiques. “ I had never thought of parting with this treasure, but it is of little interest to my family. The hobby has now become my biggest asset when my health is failing. This is my ‘jama punji’ which will see me through,” he says.

More than 1,000 years old Chinese trade dollars, each weighing about 27 gm, with emblem of Chinese emperors and cidarwood chests with Chinese paintings carved on all four sides and top give an insight into centuries-old Chinese culture. A set of three original Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings, valued at several lakhs of rupees, are also a part of his priceless collections.

Other than this, he has several other original paintings, which give insight into ancient Rajasthani and Punjabi culture. ‘Shammadaans’, made of blown glass, which he had bought from junk dealers in Old Delhi, and original ‘farmaan namas’ (used for issuing punishments) are reminiscent of the Mughal period.

Several ancient watches also adorn walls of his house. Ancient manuscripts, including hand-written Ramayana and Mahabharata in ‘Gurmukhi’ also form his prized possessions.

Ravi says he started pursuing the hobby at the age of 18 when his grandfather gave him some ancient coins. Now, he has hundreds of thousands of ancient coins ‘damris’, ‘damras’, silver coins (‘asharfi’), and gold coins (‘mohar’). The coin collection includes handmade coins, dating back to the first century BC, besides several Indo- Greek coins, lead coins of Marathis, silver and copper punch-marked coins from the time of great battle of Mahabharata, copper coins of Ujjaini and silver coins from the second century A.D.

He now sells these coins to students. Ravi has tied up with various boarding schools in Shimla, Mussorie, Dehra Dun, Sanawar, and Delhi and visits each of these once a month to sell coins to students.