PARADISE FOUND!!
Better Interiors, April 2007
"This free-flowing Apartment that gallerist Durva Gandhi calls home, can be described in one word- Meditative"- Maria Louis
PEACE IS FLOWING LIKE A river... the lyrics of a soulful hymn waft through my mind as soon as I step past the down-to-earth kitchen and through a glass door embellished with a mother-of0pearl curtain into an apartment where tranquillity reigns. I am here at the urging of artist Papri Bose... but despite knowing that the owner is a graphic designer with a enchant for clean lines, I am unprepared for the calmness that almost instantaneously prevades my being. Coming in from down town Mumbai's noisy and grimy streets, it feels as though a hand has reached out to wipe away all the effluents... and I find myself whispering in deference to the stillness.
Pure white walls, cool limestone flooring, tall glass windows that welcome the sunlight and embrace the sea view, uncluttered layout, low Burma teak divans, cream-toned furnishings, subdued lighting soothing central music- this refreshing minimalist apartment is designed to make you feel at home and at peace with the world outside. "I did not think about style first, but about what it meant to be in a home," reflects Durva. "It needed to calm, comforting, a place where you could retreat from the world. I also wanted to bring in as much of the view and greenery as possible. This is what I kept in mind throughout, whether I was selecting light fixtures, flooring or bath fittings."
A serene statue of the Buddha residing in a special alcove created by the intricately carved wooden frame of an antique temple door from Kerala beckons. A chair facing it offers refuge. This is where the graphic designer extraordinaire, who has been drawn towards art consulting and art book publishing through her company I Design, instinctively gravitates at the end of a working day. “This niche evolved from the idea of a calm, meditative space that I began with,” discloses Durva. “I didn’t have the deity then because work on the flat started much before we (my banker husband Kumar and I) even saw it, but I always knew there had to be some spot in the house where one could just sit and be. It does inspire me, because I often meditate here.”
A far cry from a traditional temple or prayer space, the “altar” came together quite naturally once the white cement statue weighing 20 kg found its way here against all odds. Durva and Kumar chanced upon it at Paradise Road, a lifestyle store in Sri Lanka, while on their way to the Maldives. It was thanks to a providential encounter with a friendly Sri Lankan that it found its way to Chennai, from where Durva went to fetch “him” a month later. A Tibetan bell that hangs over the deity’s right shoulder was purchased from Dhoop, a popular home accessories store, and the urli from another design store. “They just came from different places... and got married to each other,” recounts Durva graphically. “The chair was meant to be in the sitting area, but it added a third dimension to that space — which is now a work of art by itself.”
In fact, the entire house seems like a walk-through art installation. Understated paintings by abstract artists like Sheetal Gattani, Kiyomi Talaulicar and Yashwant Deshmukh occupy pride of place in the open-plan living area, alongside black-and-white drawings by figurative artists like FN Souza and Badri Narayan. The multi-directional track lights can be positioned to highlight the art and artefacts. Gattani’s richly-textured work seems tailor-made for the wall adjoining the row of windows. “Because of the red painting, I always thought of the upholstery being white. Even the cushions are in shades of white so that they accent it,” explains the Durva. “The walls had to accommodate the energy of the art I collect. I couldn’t have bright-coloured cushions here, as that would take away from the work.”
Durva is of the opinion that, “The art has to enhance the space... and the space has to enhance the art”. While there are more expensive paintings in her collection, Durva does not believe in flaunting them — so some are kept in storage and the others are placed in the bedroom. The doors to the master bedroom hold a commissioned site-specific work by Prabhakar Kolte, the subject of Durva’s maiden foray into publishing. This May, I Design will be launching a book on the unpretentious but seminal senior artist. “There are two images... one in the front and one at the back, but they are actually 12 separate paintings that have been sandwiched in glass to form two large doors with paintings on both sides,” points out the budding publisher. “It’s his personal interpretation of peace and what he felt in the space when he saw it.” When the doors are shut, you get a view of each side from the living area and the master bedroom... and when they are open, they make an altogether different sight. Now that’s what you call a truly moving masterpiece!
A recent nude by Payal Khandwala and the more intimate works by Jayasri Burman, Laxma Goud and Jogen Chowdhury are placed in the master bedroom. The adjoining study which “will come in handy for an extra guest or if we have a baby” sports a niche with an eye-catching visage of Christ by Sunil Padwal.
In the Mediterranean-style guest room, which is really an extension of the living area, are works by Kiyomi Talaulicar and C Douglas. Framed artefacts and handmade paper from Auroville attest Durva’s fondness for the place. “All the dried-leaf works, even the one outside the main door, are from there,” she reveals.
A pebbled-border along the sea-inspired wave-textured wall which continues from the Mediterranean guestroom; dried-leaf, wood and paper artefacts and shell curtains tinkling against glass doors underline the natural feel of the living area with its white sandblasted grey-green limestone floor. “It’s an outdoor stone that we decided to bring in because, when you remove your footwear and walk across the floor, you almost feel connected to the earth,” exclaims Durva, who is so comfortable seated on the floor that she decided against a dining-table. “It serves all purposes. It looks good, lasts long and adds to the calm and meditative space with the colour and natural quality of limestone. It is porous, though, so you have to seal it.”
Wandering through the open house, it is difficult to imagine that this was once two flats with small rooms, pink walls, one foot by one foot vitrified tiles, a row of aluminium cupboards and an arch in the centre of one large wall! “The spatial planning makes the 1,500-square-foot area look larger,” admits the ace of space. “To bring in as much air and light as possible, we had to open up three sides of the flat, break superfluous walls and take in the balconies.” The five balconies have been ingeniously converted into sit-outs where one can feast on the view while enjoying a cup of tea/coffee or chilling out with friends.
Juggling aesthetics with practicality is quite a balancing act, but this Zen-like design plan has done it well. Adequate storage contributes to the uncluttered look that leaves such a deep impression. There’s storage space below the low seating in the living area and the bedroom; in floor-to-ceiling cupboards in the bathrooms; in the wall of bedroom wardrobes displaying black-and-white photographs by Durva; under the floorboards of the split-level; below the bed and even in the false ceiling that conceals wiring for the lighting and the speakers of the central music system.
The illumination can be easily switched from a bright, entertaining mode when the apartment is filled with guests, to a relaxed lounge atmosphere that befits the couple’s intimate circle of friends, to a romantic ambience when they connect at the end of the day. But when Durva is home alone, she prefers to have just the footlights on. The dimness of the lighting generates the urge to just be still and the soft music playing through the central system helps her to get in tune with her inner self. With a deity who calls out gently to her from his perch in the meditative zone, she is truly at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment