Indian Architecture and Art-Ajmer Town

Indian Architecture always amazed me and something that deeply interested me from childhood.Visit to cities and towns always gave us an opportunity to study the  brilliant architecture of the buildings and the history of the town.Parts of Rajasthan are best visited in winter,so we visited Ajmer and Pushkar.

Ajmer city situated in a valley and ridge region and has an incomparable beauty.A walk through the town shows us the old world charm and beautiful buildings which is soon losing its beauty.I could see the absence of proper maintenance in these buildings..I gazed up and looked up at the buildings,walked through the town.

The old  buildings of Ajmer had lots to say..the beautiful grills,the gorgeous windows and doors,some old chettinad type of tiles,stuck on to the partition region between two floors of a building.In the town we saw a group of houses inside a big gate,a neighbourhood type of houses and a space inside them for prayers ,something that resembles pols,the paintings on the gates ...alas,only if they could have retained the glory..the town famous for its silver..show you all my silver in the next post.

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Villa Shanthi,Puducherry

Villa Shanthi is a new hostelry set in the French town of Puducherry and it fuses the contemporary with the colonial  style.It also has the chic and the street smartness.the tables you see here are by Tina Trigala and chairs by Martine Mallard(a French carpenter in Puducherry).All made locally.There you can see large calligraphic illustration in tamil  by Murugan a painter.The head boards and side slabs re covered with chettinad tiles ,while the fabric lamp is from Paris.The smaller bundle of vetiver acts a freshener in the room.Rattan furniture is from Weavercraft,New Delhi.The entrance to the hotel has a brass knocker from Paris flea market and an old kerala carving.The tropical vertical garden has been designed by Jan Duclos,a French botanist working in Asia for the past 30 years.Circular mirrors found in Chennai Bazaar makes an arresting mural art on the wall.The courtyard also has a mural done by Murugan based on a work by a French graphic designer Elizabeth May.You can also see a detail of a flower drawn by Murugan.Crockery from Ocean,Lungis into curtains,Laundry basket from Livelihoods,pondi and handmade soap from Auroville...

Tina Trigala says,"my idea was to blend street fashion in a smart contemporary setting"

I think way too smart and chic..what do you all think?Let me know

Contact Details:
14 Suffren Street   Pondicherry    605001 
TEL (+91 413) 4200028 - FAX (+91 413) 4210829 
MOBILE ( +91 ) 8056481994 
Email : reservation@lavillashanti.com


the website is not fully come up...

 Text by Sonal Shah,Photos:Bharath Ramamrutham

Information courtesy:Elle Decor April May 2012
Photos courtesy:Elle Decor

And the Lotus Bloomed on our Wall

On a lazy afternoon,my brother and I had a heated discussion over home makeovers and how to give our home a personal touch. 

Just to prove a point we started doodling on the wall slowly by slowly our scribbles gave way to lines,line to curves and eventually beautiful blossoms became apparent on the walls. 

Here is a photo essay trip down the memory lane..over to the lotus pond.

The very first Lotus Flower blooms

Soon, the wall is covered with a cluster of them

Slowly, each one is given a tint and hue

Soon more, flowers start blushing

The work in progress, notice the shy leaves hiding below the flowers

Here's how it finally looked once completed. 

My summer afternoon chair on the edge of the 'lotus pool'. I've read many a book in this chair.

Our 'personal touch Wall' did liven up our living room

Detail of a Lotus bud

Flowers blossoming out of thin air

Deft hands carving out the lines on the wall

Dreamy eyed and armed with a permanent marker in his hands, my brother, another creative soul in my family.

Little Gaya, who helped us immensely in coloring the art wall smiles proudly in front of our Art Wall. I am sometimes amazed at her refined choice of colors.

Finally, we won our argument and did succeed in giving our home an artistic and personal touch. A weekend and a few cups of tea were all that we needed while we indulged in this passion. I thought of sharing this with you all, just to encourage you to do something creative at your our personal spaces, a splash of color or a stroke of a marker can change the character of the space and speak volumes about the ones living there.

Do try it and share the joy of indulging in a creative pursuit !!!

You can read more about my bro's creative musings at his blog http://www.alley-of-dreams.blogspot.in/ 

Flipside Cafe,HAuzkhas,New Delhi

Flipside Cafe ,tucked in one of the streets in the bylanes of Hauzkhas,Delhi.There is dimlighting in one of the sides and bright sunlit balcony faces seat on one side.They have home made cakes form sweet lemonades to the normal chai...

All images Lakshmi Arvind