Baragarh: Satya Ketan Mohanty from Odisha’s Baragarh district has a passion — To collect rare and historical relics and artifacts. He has till date collected over 8,000 such items, including musical instruments and coins.
He finds two mentions in the India Book of Records, for having the largest collection of seashells and of Indian symbolic coins. With these rare collections, he now wants to set up a museum in western Odisha where he can showcase treasures that he has been collecting for two decades now.
He has with him items dating back to the Ashokan era. He has divided his collection of rare antique items into 14 sections, including gold coins.
He claims the coins are from the Ganga dynasty, Ashokan and Kushan dynasty, those from the period of Razia Sultan and those issued by kingdoms in Gujarat and Rajasthan. He has a collection of over 1,000 coins. He also has with him over 100 fossils, 350 rocks and minerals, rare seashells, rare musical instruments, arms and weapons and ornaments belonging to tribal people.
Besides, he has collected over 2,000 kinds of postage stamps, old envelopes, letters, palm leaf manuscripts and around 800 types of herbal dry products.
