India, July 23 -- The 'found' object has always been a source of inspiration for art. Imbued with stories and memories of the past, there's something so special about a little piece of nostalgia you can display on your corner table. And since no true artist is immune to the whimsical habit of collecting, we turned to a few of our favourites and asked: what are the objects that inspire you most?

Aanchal Malhotra, author of the evocative The Book of Everlasting Things, is a keeper. She guards relics from her family's past, a collection born to battle the fear of forgetting. "I am both interested in objects as emblems of storytelling, but also for my personal mementoes," she says. "There's only one thing I collect specifically, and it start...