A teacher at the Faculty of Technology and Engineering, M S University, Shrimali exhibited some of his rarest micro-grooves record and also delivered an informative lecture on Sunday evening.

He also played some of the rare records including dagar na chando, a thumri by Gauhar Jaan on turn-tables, antique pieces themselves.

This was recorded on wax by Gramophone Company of India, Calcutta, and manufactured by a German company in 1902. Similar is the recording of songs of Calcutta-based singers Fanibala and Shashimukhi in the same year. These are two of the rarest records Shrimali has in his possession.

``Though I have invested more than Rs 2 lakh in buying 7,000-odd records of different varieties, sizes and companies, it is hard work, which I think is more important than money. I bought them from chor-bazaars (where stolen articles are sold) of Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Delhi,'' he says, ready to track down history of each and every record.

His love for good music lead to his collecting these rare records. Born in a middle-class family of Vadodara, he could not even buy a record for himself. ``So I saw each and every LP/EP with a different eye and thus could make out the difference between them. And thus I found that the older the record, the richer the music'', he observes.

Shrimali's unique collection is the result of his hard work and interest. However, he wishes to take his records, if not all over the world, at least to all SAARC countries as, he is confident that there, too, people would enjoy listening to thumris, bhajans and olden songs.

``Whatever be the monetary value of my collection, for me and my family it is priceless,'' he says proudly.