His collection of miniature cardboard models inside glass bottles, preserved meticulously at his brother Suresh's home in Pune, tells the tale of a college interest that was rekindled, and which matured into a passion, giving him peace of mind and happiness.

Life for Salgaonkar was one smooth ride. Thirty-five years of work with the State Transport (ST) service over, he was leading a content retired life. Till a heart problem happened. An extrovert by nature, nothing gave Salgaonkar more pleasure than going out and interacting with people. But the illness imposed restrictions on this aspect of his personality along with other restraints.

This imposed solitude saw his zest slipping away. Not knowing what to do with the endless hours spread out before him, Salgaonkar searched for something to engage not just his physical energies but his mental faculties as well, to keep negative thoughts at bay. And suddenly a thought came to his mind.

Rummaging through the decades gone by, he fished out a hobby that had got lost in the debris of the past. As a college student, Salgaonkar loved to create miniature models from cardboard and paper, but placed inside bottles and even bulbs. Remembering the Taj Mahal he'd made, the replica of his college building, the ships... he got down to business again, giving a fresh lease of life to an interest that got buried under responsibilities of work and career.

Along with his own fervour came encouragement from brother Suresh and his family. ``All the material he uses comes from waste stuff; old bottles that we get for him from Juna Bazaar or from friends who know of his hobby. The cardpaper is cut from invitation and greeting cards,'' says Suresh.

... And a whole new world comes to life. A series of transport vehicles - scooters, buses, trains, ships, tongas; a collection of deities like Goddess Saraswati, Ganapati; different edifices and even scenes from pages of literary and historical books. Not just is the creation exquisite because of its sheer size, but more so for his eye for extremely fine details.

The ST bus with the exact number of seats as there actually are, with steering wheel, number plate and the board displaying the destination in place! Or the tonga with the passengers on the back-seat, the driver with the reins in hand, and the horse with a little bit of finery on. Not to miss Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk, Sindhu in a poignant scene from Ekach Pyala or Goddess Bhawani presenting Chhatrapati Shivaji with the sword. All this inside a bottle. Every single detail in place and expression on face.

It's amazing. As is the way Salgaonkar does it. First cut out the framework and then push it in with umbrella spokes curved to form a hook, pasting the details one by one patiently, his work of art ready in about two to three days.

His workshop in Ratnagiri, where he lives, Salgaonkar's creations have been kept carefully at his brother's place in Pune, as the dry air does not do them harm. A personal favourite is a model of the Konkan Railway. Having divided it into two bottles, he has also made an overhead bridge under which the train is shown moving. And why the bridge? So that the observer does not realise that this is one work split into two! Just as ingenious as the nuances his skilled fingers have managed to capture in each tiny masterpiece.

Yes, size does matter.