A friend came across these in a trunk belonging to an elderly Parsi aunt who had passed away recently. They are antique folding rulers; boxwood, brass-bound, neatly jointed. When fully opened, they measure 24 inches. Their brass hinges and end fittings are typical of pre-plastic era tools of the 18th and 19th centuries and suggest the folding rulers are really old.
One bears the name of John Rabone & Sons, a Birmingham maker once known for precision instruments carried by carpenters, surveyors, and men who built things to last. Another says Hockley Abbey, also of Birmingham, another historic trademark. They are beautiful objects, even now. The wood has mellowed with time, the markings remain clear, the hinges still hold their quiet geometry. You can tell they were made to be used, not admired.
Which is what makes their presence in that trunk so intriguing. The aunt, I know, lived a quiet, retiring life in an old Parsi Baug. Gossip with the colony neighbours, the morning bazaar, prayers at the fire temple next door, the TV sitcoms at night. Nothing in her story suggests measurements taken, plans drawn, or structures raised. And yet, here they were; carefully kept, not discarded, not forgotten.
Makes me wonder. Did these vintage measuring tools belong to her father whose trade perhaps required accuracy and a steady hand? Were they once part of a life more industrious now reduced to memory and wood? Or were they simply kept because they were objects from a time when things were not easily thrown away and are now of some age and collector value? They are keepsakes, I think; the aunt notoriously hated to get rid of even junk.
There is a certain dignity about such tools. Long after the hands that used them are gone, they remain; silent, exact, and faintly eloquent. We think of heirlooms as jewelry, letters, photographs. But sometimes, what survives is something far simpler. An antique ruler, folded away. With much industrial history in its slender frame. Still measuring, in its own way, the distance between a life lived and a life remembered.
About Mark Manuel
The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.
With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.
Further
His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.
Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.
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