Serendipity

I had an interesting childhood and I am lucky to have it. But, if you ask me if there is an unexpected occurrence, that turned out to be great luck in my life, I recall this one. 

I am a big fan of antiques from childhood. Numismatics ( old coin collection) is one of my hobbies. It was developed by my grandmother, who gave a few coins to me, which she had kept for ages. I have preserved those coins with me until today.

So this incident I was referring to, occurred when I was about 12 years old. Every summer holiday, I would go to my grandmother's home. It is an old ancestral home with a lot of old furniture. It is an old-style tiled house, build in Kerela style. I still remember cousins would play hide and seek in the dark corridors of the house.

On that day, only I and my grandmother were at the house. She wanted to clean an old wooden almirah (cupboard). She was afraid, it might be infected by termites. So she and I were sitting and cleaning the almirah. She would give me items I would wipe them with a cloth and arrange them back.

There were only a few old clothes and copper utensils in that Almirah.

Finally, when all the items were unloaded I took a dry cloth and started cleaning almirah from inside. While cleaning the last compartment I came across a wooden hinge. It was not easily visible. I took a torch and saw it. There was a hidden compartment there. I told my grandmother about it. My grandmother could not see it in dark, so I told her to hold the torch. With a bit of attempt, I was able to open the compartment. 

What I found inside, was nothing less than a treasure trove. There was an old album. The album contained a lot of old photographs. They were of my ancestors. My grandmother too was very happy with the discovery, as it had her father and other family pics. This the first time in many years she had seen them back. It was my first time I saw my great grandfather and great grandmother. 

Grandmother was not even aware the album existed and had thought the memories were lost in time. There was an old diary of my grandfather and three British India gold coins. 

My grandmother gifted me and two other cousins a gold coin each. Even today, when our family sees the album, we thank the nature for preserving it and allowing us to see our ancestors.

I still remember the click of that hinge when I first opened it.