of Brocades and new Beginnings

Completed two years without my Dad today, December 29, 2011. Just so many thoughts and feelings interlocked, woven together, some nostalgic, some sombre, some happy & hopeful and none too sad! And some traces of resolve to do things differently, and try do different things as I tip-toe into 2012 - traces of a golden lining in the distant sky quite in sync with my (few) new acquisitions to liven up life, so to say!

These speak of my mood these days  - golden synchrony in Cushions as we happily allow in more of the Sun, multiplied in zillion sparkles across the Arabian sea that my windows overlook, during these lovely balmy Mumbai- winter days.

Happy holidays and Happy beginnings,
Hello 2012.

Turkish Delights!

Yes, yes it seems I have a windfall in ceramics these days! And these ones are gorgeous courtesy Narayan's maiden trip to Turkey last week. Quoting him "I could visualize Shalini & you let loose at the Grand bazaar in Istanbul...", while he himself hasn't done a bad job of letting loose.

I begin by posting these gorgeous ceramic bowls that he picked up quite arbitrarily, that form quite a set of 4s. Yummy stuff!

The Swan

Though I am yet to feature my current Bandstand home, couldn't resist putting up this beautiful Swan in my collection of pretties - a gift from a friend couple on their first visit since my Mumbai return!

the Swan giving company to my Ganesha standing alone for too long

The Nest our next

Knock, knock

@The Nest (end 2006 to mid 2008) - nestled in the heart of Catholic Bandra, in the quiet lane right behind Mehboob Studio, where very few of the original bungalows have fallen prey to gluttonous builder-development. Thanks to the prosperity & pride of the Mumbai Catholics, the colony stands manicured, landscaped almost pristine and we became quite respectful of them, living amongst them. The Nest - this barely 3-storey building with one apartment each floor, big balconies, windowsills with small patio-like extensions and brilliant grill work overlooking Gulmohars, Peepal and Coconut Palms. And incessant bird chirps!

My living room by the sunlight

My sun streaked dining area

The bar

My Chaise by the lamp shade

the Sideboard 

The balcony overlooking the Palms

Conjugal trimmings

long view of my living area

Leapfrogging to 2005 and Narayan (we marry in Nov 2005) and I attempt to assimilate the possessions of two successfully living alone & acquisitive individuals. The attempt was carried out in this lovely modern studio-ish apartment on Bandra Mount Mary road. The apartment came with its own very contemporary furniture, some of which we retained on the pretext of spring cleaning some furniture- aberrations acquired over the years. Couple of single friends bought off some of the duplicate possessions and under God's keen eye the integration seemed well on its way.

Pinks & Purples entered my home scheme

The bookshelf created a divide between the living area and open kitchen

Finally a bed in my home

I'm searching for the pictures of one of the most fascinating aspects of this apartment - the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. Electric blue in theme, small tiles in hues of that blue on the floor and parts of the wall, pristine white fittings to offset all that blue! Still looking and am sure I got them somewhere since I wanted to copy parts of it when I build my own!

some quaint tea-light holders

knock, knock

The homemaking contagion

Lived in that temporary mindspace for a good part of the year, never giving up though never settling in either and then the best thing happened! My dear friend Shalini moved in from Bangalore - an artist, a veteran shifter (if there's any such word) & home maker par excellence, who had settled and re settled again & again; in the early years shifting wherever her father's job took them, and later on in her working years wherever work and a new career took her!
She landed in Mumbai, stayed with me for a month till her stuff arrived, we dived into house hunting at every free instance and that was it! An intrinsic & contagious girlie instinct took over and I really began romancing with the idea of HOME away from Delhi!
Shalini's stuff arrived and she head-longed into setting up bit by bit. All this while, my home too started looking more and more cared for & long term. Few more purchases, not all utilitarian, some fanciful and some simply girlie was now occupying promising spaces in the house. Even the trying- to- be- wooden flooring attained a  hue of it's own with some low, diffused lighting, put up here & there.

Love the play of colours and the grouping of overhead lamps

Shalini's two-bedroom apartment in Malad, and Yes those frames are by Shalini!

Every weekend became a further-setting-up  weekend mostly at Shalini's (at Malad) or at mine! Fully therapeutic occupation I can tell you that!

My first Home Alone!

In early 2000, my work destiny brought me to Mumbai, (Bombay then) hopeful, apprehensive at not having had a chance to choose the apartment that was to be my home for at least the year, I planned on being here!

Uma, my admin person who singlehandedly held the keys to my new abode, brought me to this one-bedroom (1BHK) pad in Andheri- 7 Bungalows. Oh oh what's that - a gilded, caged, trying to be wooden floored drawing room! I remember I ran to the window to see if the grills could be moved - nope rock solid! and that choked claustrophobia is my first memory of my meeting with the home where I'd live alone!

The feeling stayed though I think it was also borne out of the terriblly empty feeling of opening the lock to an empty bland house, every time I came home! All of you who've lived alone would know what I'm talking about. I had the length of a year and I dived into making the pad happy, in colors, hues & shades & hence live-able.

And the magic of colors came together!

My caged windowsill

The still alive Chaise Lounge from Chor Bazaar

A peek at the matching arm chair from Chor Bazaar, and the small triangular table follows

Don't miss the flooring

I'd always known that I'd not have a bed in my place - and some mattresses and cushions thrown in with some panache, some attitude. However temporary, i was still unwilling to buy off-the-rack generic stuff. This basic tenet, saw me make a trip to Juhu galli to design & order some wrought iron basics - thus came my wall mirror, dressing stool and my TV rack. The want of some wooden balance to all the iron stuff made me make my first trip to the Oshiwara Old furniture market. And what did I find - some lovely wooden cabinets - one to serve as my dresser and itsy-bitsy storage and another one to host my few glassware and quaint belongings.

The homes I left behind

Have lived in six homes so far - none owned by me and one my Dad & Mom's home. Grew up in Delhi in a very simple middle class home, of no frill and fancy, and told again and again to be thankful for the roof-over-our- head! For as long as I can remember my elder sister and I would look for curios, items in the corner, affordable and unique to place in my Dad's humble abode. This too was made possible because of my sister's early affinity to start earning - though I can still feel the post-buying trepidation till the explanation that my Dad demanded over every such purchase. Naturally the price quoted in response to his query was always half or less of the actual!

So here we were, two sisters, literally trapped in the household-principle of simple, almost bare living, restless, eager, trying at every available opportunity to create a pretty nook & an aesthetic corner in our growing-up home! Every joyful buy overhung with the foreboding of Dad's face and what he will say and almost overshadowed till the explanation was accepted, and the item placed!

Tune to mid 90's my sis got married  and left for her new, virgin home, all raw and ready to be done up as she & my Jiju pleased. The bird literally flew off from her no-frills nest!

I was left behind - by now earning bit by bit - gradually and increasingly able to assert my independence to buy and dress up my (Dad's) home. This continued though always a quest for doing it as I want, overhauling it my way remained, sometimes active, many a times dormant - by now taking brave breaks in buying things with like-minded friends, at fairs, exhibitions, curio stores, old furniture markets and such. I can remember Delhi Haat taking shape at this time, and my first and many subsequent visits to the Amar Colony old furniture market, thereafter.

Sadly, no picture exists of this phase that I can call my half- caged home- deco sensibility.