New Delhi - Camera from past times. Rusty typewriter. Retro radio. Matchboxes were used to light banned cigarettes.

In the age of new technologies and artificial intelligence, visiting Aditya Vij’s New Delhi location is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed chapter of history.

Anthropologist is an avid collector of artifacts and devotes his life to antiquities. For decades, he has stubbornly collected thousands of items that have spanned centuries and documented their relevance and impact on society.

Vijay said every collection he salvaged felt like a victory, emphasizing his belief that a person’s attempt could quietly resist their removal from people’s memories.

"The deepest emotion I felt when collecting these items was the satisfaction I managed to save a period of history," Vij said in an interview with his priceless vintage camera and phonograph.

The fossil leaves of fish, snails, t and ferns are Vijay's oldest items. But he was passionate about another object that dated around 1915: thousands of matchboxes.

His obsession began when he was eight years old when he discovered his first matchbox while wandering along the road with his father. Today, the 51-year-old has more than 22,000 matchboxes.

Some of them have been around for over a century, and their cover tags showcase different forms of religious representation and political scenes in the era in which they were produced.

"It's not only the possession of these trinkets, but the process of hunting them adds a layer of excitement to me," Vij said.

He said that preserving memory through these collections prompts people to think about the craft of an era where life is slower and decisions are more intentional.

Some of his possessions were acquired through opportunities.

Vij said many years ago, he discovered a nonsense dealer who wanted to break an old radio with a hammer. He shouted across the street and stopped the man. The nonsense dealer was surprised and explained how he would make money from various parts. Vij offers to buy it. Today, the broadcast is located in his existing collection of years.

"Thirty seconds, I'll lose it, and sometimes that's what it takes - be alert and act quickly," he said.

Vij describes his journey, the “people who connect the past with the future” and aspires to create a museum in his house that will serve as a physical space where younger generations can learn about innovation from the past.

Otherwise, these inconspicuous objects will disappear forever in the broad information of the new technology, Vij said.

“Things that were once familiar have become rare and often forgotten, leaving only traces of nostalgia and memories,” he said.

Vij also received a request from parents who wanted him to show his children how to use his collection in the past. Some people want their kids to see how the typewriter works, or how to click on a picture using a film camera.

Others look at how some home devices work, such as rotary phones, tube radios, pressure irons, ice cream makers and lanterns.

“When they (the kids) told me how they didn’t know the existence of these objects, that was when I felt more urgent to protect history,” he said.

Vij said technology has developed rapidly over the past few years and childhood gadgets have become obsolete overnight. He believes that it is necessary to archive them.

“I want the younger generation to realize the importance of history and to achieve it by preserving it,” he said.