• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Sudha Menon

Sudha Menon on two stores in Pune where you can be sure to buy things that are off-beat, interesting and full of soul.

The Either Or too shop is a unique landmark in Pune

They call themselves a story not a store and if you really want to know why, do drop in at `Either Or' and its sibling, `Either Or Too', the retail space addresses in Pune where you can be sure to find stuff to buy that is offbeat, interesting, exciting and, most important, full of soul.

Not for `Either Or' and its team, assembly line products that fill shelf space across super malls. Not for it the lure of loading their space with imported knick-knacks.

``It is for us to decide if we want stuff for ourselves and for those around us that is cheap and mass produced or stuff that carries the indelible mark of a craftsperson who has put his soul into his work and showcases our varied crafts heritage,'' says Ritika who opened this unique concept store in the city just about three years ago.

"The story of `Either Or'," says Ritika, "is the story of bringing together of people — people who work with their hands, their hearts and their imagination, utilising time creatively and sensitively with themselves and with others." Walking into the store on a quiet afternoon when you have time to browse, is the easiest way to understand just exactly what this concept means.

The store itself is a study in innovation, its interiors done by the group of people who dreamt it up themselves and gave shape to it with as little damage to nature as possible. Which is why `Either Or's' whacky interiors is done up almost entirely in recycled particle board made of packaging material. Walk in and you are greeted by a big wooden pencil — the trial room which is bang in the middle of the store. Look up towards the ceiling and there are more surprises: a carved wooden chair jostles for space with a jute hammock and scores of utility things and just knick-knacks hang around in mid-air, suspended by invisible threads.

The stores shelves are also choc-a-bloc with merchandise that is wonderfully different from run-of-the-mill stuff found in designer showrooms and malls. Almost everything on the shelves is either natural or the result of an artisan or craftsperson's painstaking effort. Natural dyed T-shirts, block-printed fabric, trendy men's and women's wear designed to show off the rich diversity of our crafts heritage in the form of intricate hand embroidery or mirror work, are all there. Then there are a whole lot of collectibles such as bags in a variety of material such as jute, crochet, satin, silk embroidery. A collection of life-style products, artefacts in terracotta, wire toys and jewellery in material ranging from thread and beads to metal and semi precious stones also jostle for attention.

``People make a whole lot of choices which are not always about cheap or expensive or garish or sensitive and our objective is to cater to and celebrate each one of these choices,'' says Rohit Tikoo, Ritika's partner. Rohit is a photographer of repute who takes time off to be at the store.

`Either Or' and its new sibling is also the place to head for, if one is in search of socially sensitive literature with the store now becoming a forum for several writers and activists. Walk into the store and head for the nook where they stock alternative, innovative and socially sensitive literature from unknown writers and small publishing houses which might not find space in the larger book shops. ``We want to give expression to ideas that need to be shared but are treated unfairly or totally ignored by mainstream publishing houses,'' says Ritika.

The interiors of the shop.

It is the idea that every opinion needs a platform that has prompted the store to put up a notice board that anybody is welcome to display their works, a poem, a beautiful thought, a film review or a painting. ``The whole idea is to develop the store into a place which fuels debate, interaction and just plain fun,'' says Ritika.

And this is exactly what is happening if you consider the fact that the board some time back was the platform for two reviews on Aamir Khan's Lagaan, with one writer showering praises on the film while the other gave it a resounding thrashing.

The team at `Either Or Too' has other ideas up their sleeve. During Navraatri last year, the store transformed itself into a space of a completely different kind each evening with events earmarked for `the celebration of womanhood'. Thus, while one evening saw an enthusiastic panel discussion on `Women and War', another saw groups of women going through a session of introspection and self-discovery through analysis of their hand-writing, dreams and caricatures. And then there was a session, `Wholesomely Yours' where there were humorous attempts to identify wholesome food and its evolving forms through generations and different personalities of women.

``When we announced it a lot of people dismissed it as just one of those sobby, `womenly' meets,'' says Ritika, who points out that the store made it into an event that kindled a spirit of sisterhood without being feminist or aligned to any religious or ethnic groups. ``At the end of it we saw lots more men attending and actually participating in the events,'' says Ritika.

``There are a whole range of options in life which is not just black and white but lie in the middle and we beleive in celebrating this middle, though we do not deny the existence of the extremes. We believe it is possible to celebrate all choices because everything in nature finds a niche,'' signs off Rohit.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
ESOP fables

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line