Rajan Jayakar and his wife in traditional Pathare Prabhu attire

The Best tickets sporting rows of numbers in the Devanagari script, with the fare plus "15 paise adhibhar" printed in the centre, were scraps of paper for most Mumbaikars once they got off the bus. But then came the credit card-like machines that spat out soulless white receipts, and the colourful tickets - along with the aluminium box slung across the conductor's shoulder and the tinkling of his punching device - became a part of nostalgia. What sets apart collectors is that they recognise the value of such everyday markers of history before they cease to exist.