Wittul Shamsett & Sons. A name that is synonymous with reliability and integrity. School trophies, medals and intricate jewellery... they have it all. This place, over the last century has made its mark on the consciousness of the Punekars. Started by Wittul Shamsett, a postman turned goldsmith, way back in 1865. Laxman Balwant Shamsett, one of the grandsons of the late Wittul Shamsett, opens up the doors of his memory, "Basically, we were dependent on the British for our livelihood because in the Camp area, the clientele consisted of foreigners and the affluent and the war helped us a lot," he admits candidly. "But in '47 when they left, there was a slump once again because most of the articles that we made were exclusively for the English. Since they were big-made, the rings and the other articles were made to suit their sizes. We Indians are small built and moreover, we hardly wore watches and if we did, it used to be small-faced dial watches - more like a lady's watch. It is the British who used to wear big-faced dial ones. Secondly, most of them, before they bought any articles from us, would ask one question : `How much will I be able to sell it for?' Since they knew that in England they wouldn't get the same price. For instance if they bought a gold piece, they wanted to get it appraised. They knew that in this country at least they would get a good percentage of their original price back. We also made trophies, medals and shields for the military for their sports events. Today, hardly any schools or colleges come to us to make the same for them," Mr.Dahivadkar shrugs matter-of-factly. His son, Shekhar Dahivadkar, adds that they were an agency for Collegian Watches that were imported from England. "But once the government stopped the importing of these watches, we slowly turned to other avenues," Shekhar Dahivadkar informs us. Even though we are fascinated by the duo's narration about their illustrious past, nothing can compare to the real thing. Stepping into their quaint shop on East Street is like being enveloped by the old world charm that is reflected strongly in Mr. Laxman Dahivadkar. As he regales us with anecdotes from yore, we can't help feeling that if ever we were in dire need of H.G.Well's time machine, the time would have been now! From the very propah gora sahibs browsing around in their place to present day Pune, it's all there to see in his light-coloured eyes. "Though the appearance has remained the same, the functioning has changed to suit the times," admits Shekhar.ï¿½
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