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Sujata Reddy
vashi
Though we may be living in an age where Internet rules, mobile phones and video cameras are an es- sential part of our day-to- day lives, birth certificates, company certificates, etc. are still documented on pa- per, Yet, preservation of pa- per is a largely ignored ten dency among laymen. It is at times like these, when experts like Anand Akolkar come to the res- cue by putting their skills at reviving old documents to good use.
Akolkar took voluntary retirement from the post of laboratory chemist at The Indian Standard Metal Co. Ltd. 15 years back, when he was only 35, only to join the Asiatic Society of Bombay as laboratory supervisor and soon afterwards set up his own firm 'Om Sat Naam Enterprises', at his abode at Sector 9. Vashi taking orders to revive old documents.
"I was trained partially by the Asiatic Society of Bombay, who helped me complete a few courses on reviving old documents and I also learnt a lot while practically implementing what was taught to me", says Akolkar on how his journey began. "My very first assignment required me to assemble an ancient piece of paper, which liter- ally collapsed to about 50 pieces during the attempt. But I put them all together and successfully completed the preservation process",