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

Havelis of Nawalgarh,Shekhawati

We were in Shekhawati region for 3 days and so each day we kept visiting the important towns nearby Mandawa.

The town which we visited the second day was Nawalgarh.Like Mandawa this town also has got its fair share of havelis,some renovated,some looked after by the caretakers and some turned into schools.

Beautiful where the paintings and frescoes,and we found a lot of european influences in the paintings in Nawalgarh havelis which we visited.

the majestic entrance ,mirrors embedded on the entrance arches

loved this ,the worn,tired and the old

of light

roses and lady

the names being given to the girls can be seen above

loved the deatailing

old switches intact

sreeramji ,my lord

beautiful red

wider view

seating arrangement

loved the framing

a homestay option along with homecooked meals in nawalgarh,near the main road,near the poddar haveli

beautiful blue flowers and the walls in cowdung paste

liked the tower

the lantern with the cover on top..

window thorans outside

loved the minimalism..

All images courtesy:Lakshmi Arvind

please do not use images without prior permission.all images are subject to copyright

The Many Faces of Lord Ganesha at home

Om maha Ganapathe namaha

Sarva vignoba shantaye

Om Ganeshaya namaha.

Om, I invoke the name of Ganapathi,

Bringer of peace over all troubles,

Om, I invoke the name of Ganesh….

* Lord Ganesh, the remover of all obstacles and bestower of wishes, is worshipped in myriad expressions of form and material -wood, terracotta, bronze, clay, silver and stone. His elephant-head and curving trunk resting over his enormous belly are the most prominent features of him.

* Today is Ganesh Chaturthi and I thought this was the perfect time to post a few snaps from my personal collection of Ganeshas. Collecting ganesh idols have become almost an obsession for me.

* Ganesh, or Ganapathi as we prefer to call him down South, sits on my shelves, in multiple forms of statuary, stone, metal and papier mache.

* Few auspicious occasions are not embarked upon without first seeking his blessings.

* He figured prominently in my childhood stories, which I now tell my little one. I have since then developed an even more personal connection to Ganesh.

* Ganesh’s trunk can be curled into the symbol “Om”, the primal sound; and the snake found coiled around his waist represents the force of cosmic energy.

* To thee, Lord Ganesha, come and fill our homes with happiness and goodness……..