I still remember the day we went to the Smoke House deli. It was a working day and Monday. The children didn't accompany us this time. This was one of the few times that we went without them. We wanted to have breakfast and talk at a secluded place and this seemed to be the best option in town. Already Fb, newspapers and Design 2013 have had their fair shares of the Design and illustrations being done at Smoke House.
Plain white walls and the illustrations in black permanent maker. But in between yes, we did see red bougainvillea flowers on their terrace walls and that made us fall in love with them. Mirza Ghalib's verses in English and the amazing Lodhi garden on one of the walls, their white iron chairs and the patterns of the tiles. There's so much more on the walls, definitely you need to see it to believe it. They have embedded tons of information nuggets, stories and layers within these walls and invite you to find them all!
This is an excerpt from the site of Smoke House Deli:
"The nostalgia of 1960s Delhi meets light, happy Deli.
And here's how we did it: Inspired by the history of Khan Market and its pride of place in the nostalgia of anyone that grew up in Central Delhi, we picked history, reminiscence and culture as central themes for the space.
Within that overall theme, our visual and story references spanned life in 1960s Khan Market and Central Delhi, as well as the general history and humanistic culture of Delhi, while remaining within the overall Deli visual language. Khan Market in the 60s presents a delicious look at a slice of life in Central Delhi when a curious mix of Punjabi aesthetic from pre-partition roots mashed with neo-Colonial aspirations: when products and objects were different and described a very different kind and pace of life, when homes were connected and neighbourhoods were family.
These stories were then brought together into a format befitting a modern European Deli and hand-drawn directly onto the walls. Each line, every surface. No stencils, no pre-printed wallpapers. We thought through and questioned the connect with every object, each architectural and wallpaper pattern detail, each poster, book, music cassette etc. while including diverse elements ranging from geometric art-deco/neo-classical inspired wallpapers, cornice details, retro objects and sculptures, to highly detailed foliage, birds and portraits, to several hand-drawn lettering styles".
Kriti Monga and her associates spin magic and tales at the Smoke House Deli. These illustrations were stencilled or a printed wallpaper on the walls of Smoke House Khan Market.
Here's how they did it, : regular black permanent marker + freehand drawings directly on the walls (and other objects). Each line, every surface.Kerosene oil for erasing.
 |
| beautifully calligraphed |
 |
| the flight of steps above |
 |
| calligraphed interiors |
 |
| its enchanting |
 |
| lodhi garden on walls |
 |
| loved the cat and those grills |
 |
| the details |
 |
| as you walk up the stairs |
 |
| the details |
 |
| the upper floor |
 |
| the mango tree on the walls |
 |
| beautiful setting |
 |
| the setting on the terrace |
 |
| bougainvillea in bloom |
 |
| loved the floor |
 |
| shadows on floors |
 |
| inside outside |
 |
| all in a frame |
 |
| the jamaican coffee after the breakfast |
(images by Lakshmi Arvind)
All images credits:Varnam,KArthik VAidyanathan
.jpg)
