For the love of Mother Earth

Mohammad Makki, a collector of minerals and fossils, has recently exhibited his collection at Osmania University. In a freewheeling chat, he speaks about his love for Mother Earth, which is reflected in his collections

A tooth of shark from Al Wasi, jaw of Mesosaurus from Morocco, hair of a mammoth and meteorites from Siberia and Russia, these aren’t a collection from museum but were on display at University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad. While philately (collection of stamps), numismatics (collection of coins) are known hobbies, they are nothing but mundane for Mohammad Makki, who collects minerals and fossils.

A businessman by profession, Makki has been nurturing his passion of collecting rare minerals and fossils for more than five decades. “I have started my collection from 1960, when I was 14,” he beams and cites his father as a huge influence. “My father used to collected them, he inspired me,” he adds.

A member of Mineralogical societies of India and USA, Makki proudly states that he has nurtured his passion by leaps and bounds and insists that ‘do not touch’ sign is doing more harm than good. “Many collections in museums across the world come with a ‘do not touch’ tag, which is driving youth and children away from learning the art of collection. For this very reason, I insist on the visitors to touch and feel my collection. Who knows some of them might start collecting as a hobby,” he says.

Mohammad Makki and his collections are famous across the world and yet, he insists that touring museum is better. “I don’t have plans to firmly plant my feet in any particular place. My aim is to ensure that most people should enjoy and be aware of past and mother nature. When you have a fixed museum everyone can’t go that particular place, these days people have become lazy and busy. That is why I prefer ‘Touring Museum’,” he adds.

When asked about how he would know about availability of fossils, Makki says, “Research, permits and mining,” he smirks. “I do research, take relevant permits from government and then mine/ excavate for fossils or minerals,” he adds.

“My intension in holding the exhibition is to educate people and students on the Earth science along with creating awareness on the wonders of the nature. Many have misconception that majority of the stones displayed are from seashore or beneath the water. But exhibitions like these creates proper awareness by educating them about earth science,” explains Makki when asked about his purpose behind exhibiting his collection.

Makki says that collection is a continuous process and every year small and big pieces of minerals are added to his collection. “I have been to USA, Germany, France, China and South Korea for his collection. When I go abroad, I usually exchange my collection from India with them and in return take their collection,” he adds.

Makki has spent more than Rs 1.5 cr in the past 50 years, which includes a shark tooth from Al Wasi, Mesosaurus Jaw from Morocco, an Ostrich egg, meteorite from Sikot Alin, Siberia, a dinosaur egg from China, hair of mammoth from Russia, a large piece of Apophyllite, amethyst from Brazil, a very large piece of Zeolite and a Pyrite from Peru were some of the prominent attractions from the exhibition.

By Divya Vallabhaneni