Paul Abraham grew up in a different Delhi. A gentler one that allowed children the run of its wild and ancient sprawl. When he was 12, Abraham’s father gifted him a Vaseline bottle filled with old coins. These were like ten coded messages delivered across time from the erstwhile state of Travancore to the history buff in him. It was partly to relive and share this long-ago sense of wonder that Abraham started Sarmaya, which is Urdu for a collective or shared wealth. A passion project for him and his late wife, Tina, Sarmaya started as a virtual museum to make the family’s vast private collection of historical artefacts and Indian art accessible to everyone and start exciting conversations and fuel the imagination. Today, the organisation is shaped by the vision that both Paul and his partner, Pavitra Rajaram, share — to make this rich collection more accessible to the public, and offer a critical and compassionate framework for young Indians to discover their cultural inheritance. In late 2024, Sarmaya opened a public-facing archive, gallery, and event space in the historic Lawrence & Mayo building in Mumbai's Fort area. Alongside his passion for art and history, Paul is also the President of Hinduja Foundation, a member of the governing board of Sanctuary Nature Foundation, and was previously the Chief Operating Officer at IndusInd Bank.