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Keeper of Stories: A Conversation with Dr. Vijaylaxmi MN
The art of collecting has been woven into the fabric of human history for centuries. During the Middle Ages, art was limited to religious institutions, cathedrals, and the homes of imperial families, who commissioned portraits and murals to adorn their palaces. During the Renaissance, affluent merchants and patrons began collecting objects to showcase their wealth or surround themselves with things of beauty as expressions of taste and intellect.
Over time, collecting has become more nuanced – an acquisition of objects that holds cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance as a means of preserving history, owning a slice of culture, or a way to support artists and art movements.
In our latest series, we explore stories essaying the lives of modern day collectors, their serendipitous finds handpicked from The House of Things, and the pieces with the keep-forever quality.
She describes her curation as a space “between heaven and earth – the story of sacred forms.” Deeply symbolic of tangible representations of belief systems, mythologies and rituals that span centuries. For Dr. Vijaylaxmi, collecting is a responsibility as much as a passion. Each object holds an echo of something lost or slipping away, from sacred traditions to overlooked folk practices. Her selection brings these echoes back into focus, allowing them to endure in modern memory.
Her relationship with objects is not rooted in visual appeal alone. A sculpture, a textile, a ceremonial artefact; what draws her in is not only the mastery of its making, but the invisible thread of life it still holds.
What moves her most is the sense of continuity, of something being preserved and passed down with intention. For Dr. Vijaylaxmi, this is the true power of collecting: not to own, but to listen, and to keep listening, until the object begins to tell its story.
When art historian and collector Dr. Vijaylaxmi chooses a piece, it is never for mere form or ornament. The Panjurli is a case in point - deeply rooted in cultural memory and charged with visceral energy. Unlike deities enshrined in temples, Panjurli is invoked through performance, in open fields and village courtyards. Half-boar, half-divine, this guardian spirit is wild and grounded, cosmic yet deeply local. It serves as a moral force held within a community’s lived and spiritual landscape.
When art historian and collector Dr. Vijaylaxmi chooses a piece, it is never for mere form or ornament. The Panjurli is a case in point - deeply rooted in cultural memory and charged with visceral energy. Unlike deities enshrined in temples, Panjurli is invoked through performance, in open Fields and village courtyards. Half-boar, Half-divine, this guardian spirit is wild and grounded, cosmic yet deeply local. It serves as a moral force held within a community’s lived and spiritual landscape.
Among the many pieces that drew her in, one piece stood out - an encounter that felt immediate and electric. “Garuda was a love-at-first-sight moment,” she shares. Garuda – the legendary bird-like guardian, revered across South Indian temple art - is far more than myth. It is a symbol of vigilance and fierce devotion. As the divine mount of Lord Vishnu, Garuda bridges the earthly and celestial, embodied here in sculptural form with majestic wings, revered stance, and a gaze that pierces.
The emotional core of her curation lies not in a single object, but in the cumulative resonance of the entire selection. Surprisingly, it wasn’t only the sculptures or artefacts that lingered in her mind. The wallpapers and fabrics, often relegated to backdrop, struck her as deeply evocative.
DR. VIJAYLAXMI’S CURATION
