By : Rishika Sharma
Buttons. They may seem insignificant to you. After all, aren’t these just plastic bits with a couple of holes for stitching up in your clothes? Ask Jitendar Koundal and he will vehemently protest. He is a button collector, one who passionately accumulates buttons as a hobby. For him buttons are tiny little fragments of joy that mean the world to him.
Jitendar is the typical middle-aged businessman you find in the sleepy towns of the Indian Himalayas, sitting in his shop with a welcoming smile to his customers. He does not look like someone who would venture on a road less travelled in India, that too for collecting buttons of all things collectible. However, the moment you ask him about his collection you can spot a sparkle in the eyes of this 47 year old from the hill station of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. It switches his five foot frame to a different level of almost child-like energy as he tells the story of how it all started.
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| Jitendar Koundal, in his shop with his collection of buttons at Dharamshala. |
Jitendar is the typical middle-aged businessman you find in the sleepy towns of the Indian Himalayas, sitting in his shop with a welcoming smile to his customers. He does not look like someone who would venture on a road less travelled in India, that too for collecting buttons of all things collectible. However, the moment you ask him about his collection you can spot a sparkle in the eyes of this 47 year old from the hill station of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. It switches his five foot frame to a different level of almost child-like energy as he tells the story of how it all started.
