What began as childhood fun for Kiran Munipalle—playing lagori with matchboxes—has evolved into a serious passion. At 44, Kiran, a watchmaker and former investment banker, owns a staggering collection of over 10,000 match-related artifacts from 30+ countries.
When Metrolife visited his Uttarahalli home, Kiran displayed only half his treasures, ranging from lithograph labels to quirky “error matches.” The oldest piece, a 1940s lion lithograph from Cambay, Gujarat, reflects India’s rich matchbox history. Labels in his collection feature everything from Karnataka’s iconic Vidhana Soudha to Swedish artistry depicting royalty and even Austrian labels with risqué images.
Kiran explains matchboxes once doubled as advertising canvases, showcasing promotions for hotels, banks, and firecrackers. “The detail and composition of Swedish match labels with Indian themes are unmatched,” he says, showing a fisherman battling a crocodile.
His hobby intensified in 2014-15, when he joined a global network of phillumenists (matchbox collectors). Kiran often trades to expand his collection: 500 Indian matchboxes for 50 Swedish ones or rare Raja Ravi Varma prints in exchange for Indian wildlife-themed labels.
Dedication takes him far, from rescuing matchboxes from dustbins to bringing back 1,000 matchboxes from a Nepal trip—sans the sticks, to comply with flight rules. Once, a bedridden retired teacher gave him 1,000 labels used as teaching aids.
For Kiran, each matchbox is a story, combining art, history, and nostalgia.
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