Do you have any collections?
Do You Have Any Collections?
I used to collect stamps once.
Tiny rectangles carrying countries I had never seen,
languages I could not read,
and kings, birds, flowers, mountains, and histories I knew nothing about.
Then came coins.
Old coins. Shiny coins. Foreign coins.
Coins with holes in them.
Coins that looked more valuable than my entire personality in school.
Back then, finding one unusual coin felt like discovering treasure.
Now I lose ₹10 coins inside sofa cushions and emotionally move on.
Somewhere between growing up and paying bills,
my collections disappeared quietly.
The albums are gone.
The little plastic folders vanished.
Even the excitement of asking relatives,
“Do you have any old stamps?”
has retired respectfully.
But maybe we never really stop collecting things.
We simply change what we collect.
Now I collect screenshots I’ll never revisit.
Saved reels I’ll never watch again.
Travel tickets folded inside books.
Receipts from cafés because “the paper looked aesthetic.”
Unread books.
Half-finished notebooks.
Memories from random rainy evenings.
And conversations that should have meant less… but didn’t.
Adulthood is honestly just becoming a curator of emotionally unnecessary things.
And somehow, the weirdest collections are always invisible.
We collect people’s words.
Certain songs.
Specific smells from childhood.
Tiny heartbreaks.
Almost-confessions.
Moments where we laughed too hard in the middle of ordinary days.
No shelf displays them.
Yet they occupy the most space.
And maybe that’s why old collections feel so precious today —
because they remind us of a version of ourselves
who found magic in tiny things.
A coin.
A stamp.
A sticker.
A postcard.
Little objects… carrying entire worlds.
✦ Poem ✦
I once kept stamps in careful rows,
like little doors to distant roads;
and coins inside a velvet tin,
as if they held the world within.
Now drawers are filled with stranger things —
old movie tickets, broken rings,
receipts from cafés, faded notes,
and passwords nobody even wrote.
We grow, and so our collections do;
less about objects, more about who.
A laugh, a face, a fleeting day,
the kind that never fully fades away.
And isn’t it funny, strange, yet true —
the older we get, the more we pursue
small little moments we cannot hold…
while missing the treasures we once called gold. ✨
.
.
With love,
—Rajeshwari 🧿💕
© Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved
Rajeshwari, this is absolutely beautiful. You’ve turned the quiet act of collecting into a tender meditation on growing up, memory, and what truly stays with us. The way you move from tangible stamps and coins to the invisible collections of heartbreaks, almost-confessions, and rainy evenings — that’s pure magic. And your closing poem? It lingers like a favorite song. Thank you for reminding us that we never stop being collectors; we just learn to treasure different kinds of gold. ✨
This truly touched my heart Srikanth ji. ✨ Thank you for reading so deeply and understanding the silences between the words too. Sometimes memories are the only treasures that keep glowing with time… and I’m so happy this piece stayed with you that way. 🌸
Good morning! You’ve just reminded us to never stop being collectors. From collecting stamps and coins to collecting pieces of memories that stay with us truly, that’s really an amazing thing. 👍
That’s so great, Rajeshwari! ☺️
I have a cold breeze this Friday morning, despite the sunny weather, and it’s so meditating! 🌞 Have a great Friday ahead, and I hope that the rest of your week goes well! ☺️
Good evening ! ☀️ That’s so beautifully said. Maybe we never stop being collectors only the things we collect change with time. ✨ And that cold breeze on a sunny Friday morning sounds so peaceful and meditative. 🌿☺️ Have a beautiful Friday ahead and a lovely weekend!
Thank you so much! Yeah, you’re right; things that we collect change over time ☺️👍
You too, have a beautiful weekend, Rajeshwari! ☺️
This was such a lovely read 🥺
I used to collect little things too, so this felt very personal. And that line about becoming a curator of emotionally unnecessary things is so true 😭🤍
Your blogs always feel warm and real.
Aww thank you so much Maha🥺🤍 That truly means a lot to me. And yes, those little “emotionally unnecessary” things somehow become the most precious memories with time. ✨So happy the blog felt personal and warm to you. ☺️
I’ve started collecting things like albums and such when I was young but I haven’t kept them for some reason and now don’t have any of them!
Maybe the albums are gone, but the memories attached to them still quietly stay with us somehow. ✨☺️ And honestly, I think almost all of us have lost a few little collections while growing up.
A happy writing every day ❤️
बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद आपका 🙏🏻
𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙩.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨:
“𝘼𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”
𝙖𝙣𝙙
“𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.”
𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.
𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙡: 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮:
“𝙒𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙤; 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤.”
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣.
𝘼 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙍𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙞 𝙟𝙞.
Vijay ji, This honestly felt less like a comment and more like someone sitting quietly beside my thoughts and understanding them without me having to explain anything. 🥺✨ The care with which you read every emotion, every little line, and the way you understood the heart of the piece so deeply… it truly touched me in ways I cannot fully put into words. 🤍 As writers, we hope our words find a home somewhere in someone’s heart… and your comment made me feel they truly did. 🤍Thank you for such tenderness, such understanding, and such a beautiful soul-filled response. Your words are something I will quietly carry with me for a very long time. ✨
Ooo the screenshot thing got me… I’m the greatest collector of those… Ooo wait… I mean the worst lol… like right now… I need to go delete them all… cuz I know I probably won’t look at them ever… but what if I need them later haha
At this point my screenshots folder is just a chaotic little museum of “this might matter later” 😭✨ Random quotes, recipes I’ll never make, memes, conversations, outfits, things I wanted to remember for two minutes… and somehow every single one feels too sentimental to delete 😂
Haha yessss I feel ya 😁… same same… and so hard to delete them geeees 😂…
He he he 🤭
Nice one
Aww thank you 🤍Comments like these make writing feel even more special 🤍✨
Most welcome ❤️