Picture Perfect

Ferzaan Engineer has a fabulous collection of Leica cameras.

- Akhila Ranganna

"EITHER YOU are a serious collector or you aren't. It is really like that," explains Ferzaan Engineer, who knows a thing or two about the subject. He has collected more than 35 Leica cameras, carefully preserved and displayed in his tasteful home in Bengaluru. A beautiful piece of engineering, the Leica camera has achieved iconic stature and can lay claim to have shot some of the most famous images of this generation. Engineer collects only mechanical Leicas, manufactured between 1925 and 1970, as close to mint condition as possible. "I either collect at the highest level or I don't collect," he says.

Originally from Ahmedabad, Engineer holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. After a teaching stint in the United States, Engineer headed a research center in Ahmedabad. He served as the CEO of Quintiles India, during which time he moved to Bengaluru. Four years ago, he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and co-founded Medwell Ventures, which provides home healthcare services under the Nightingales brand. Just over two years ago, he started planning a chain of oncology hospitals called Cytecare Hospitals, aiming to redefine the way cancer is treated in India. The first hospital commenced operations in November 2016.

For as long as he can remember, Engineer was always interested in collecting things, even as a schoolboy. "My mother used to collect old furniture," he says. His hobby took on a serious note when he started collecting old phonograph records — LPs — from the 1950s and '60s. Engineer, 54, started focussing only on the brand new first issues of that period, and today has over 1000 LPs. This was followed by Leica cameras, old furniture and art.