Some people collect coins or stamps, but Namburi, an entrepreneur, collects cycles. He says about his unique habit: “People have all sorts of collections like coins, stamps and stickers, but collecting cycles was rare and I decided to go for it.“ He owns four vintage cycles, apart from five other vintage cars and bikes. Two of the cycles belong to the 40s and another one has a tax card that reads 1968-69, Bangalore City Corporation. Back then cycle owners had to pay road taxto the government.

Recounting the story of how he got hold of the BSA cycle belonging to the Hitler era, Namburi says, he got “the baby” from a 65-year-old cycle dealer, Azeez on Mysore Road for Rs 9000 in early 2012 and spent Rs 40,000 restoring it. All the parts of this restored cycle are original; some are imported from London. The oil lamp (1901) and the double bell are from Joseph Lucas company. The seat is an original dark brown and leather. The newspaper holder on the right side rod of the wheel is of horse brand. There is a cycle pump attached to the rod that sits in a vertical fashion between the legs. The seat is Brooks make. The dust cap is made out of brass. The cycle tires are 25-years old and white-wall tires. A striking feature of the cycle that you cannot miss is the tool kit attached to a rod in the front. The reflector is different as the back of it is made out of tin as opposed to the plastic ones we get today. Mohammed Ismail, a mechanic, did all the painting and gave the finishing touches to this 1939 bike.

And yes, Namburi rides this bike to work in Rajajinagar at least twice a week; he does it with such elan that it would’ve made it’s first owner proud. He says when he is on his bike it is hard for people not to notice him. “It’s the older generation that notices me the most. They are astonished to see someone young on a cycle so ancient.”

But this 30-year-old has always had a penchant for all things vintage. He owns 480 watches, the oldest being a Swiss make from 1895 and is worth Rs 15-20,000 today; 144 cameras and the oldest is an Eastman Kodak from 1901, apart from oil lamps, a 1962 air gun and more. Collecting things has been his passion since the time he was a school boy. He would collect world cup chewing gum cards, trump cards, matchboxes and more. “I still have all of that,” he says. But the ‘collector-bug’ in him was born when his grandfather gave him an HMT watch when he was in class 7. Namburi feels that as a collector it is important to be at the right place at the right time if you want to get your hands on the right vintage.

Namburi lives by the adage, ‘Junk is old and old is collectible’ to the extent that he even has posters around his house proclaiming this truth. Perhaps to remind his wife so that she doesn’t throw anything during spring cleaning. “There’s something about holding old stuff…it can’t be replaced. You can use old stuff and it will never die out on you,” he says. “I won’t sell anything.”

To pursue his hobby of collecting vintage cycles, watches and other interesting paraphernalia, Namburi feels that he requires only patience, time, money and luck. “If you see something somewhere and like it, you should grab it. It won’t be there the next time,” he says.

Currently, Namburi is restoring two baby cycles for his one-and-a-half year old son,Tejal S Namburi, who he says will continue his legacy; it’s an Indian make that was used in photo studios as a prop in the sixties. And yes, it was a limited edition cycle.