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

Shubhra Gupta

Two products are catching the designer's fancy. One for its durability, the other for its fragile elegance.

The bamboo has to be among the most deceptive of plants. It seems so fragile, with its thin, long stems that look as if a light wind could snap them into two. But it is actually one of the hardiest. Those who work with bamboo, like Minhazz Majumdar and Shahriyar Choudhury, can testify to its long-lasting qualities. Durability is one. Elegance is another.

At the couple's Earth and Grass Workshop outlet, spread over one floor of their South Delhi home, the articles made of bamboo, cane and terracotta possess clean, uncluttered lines, and a contemporary design sense, which would fit beautifully in any modern home.

As they show me around, they say that right now there aren't as many bamboo products on display because Assam and other parts of the North East, where they source a lot of their material from, have been inaccessible because of floods and bad road conditions. The room is crowded though; a couple of comfortable chairs sit on either side of a table that has diyas, penholders, (Rs 25-75) and table-top accessories. Then there are trays (handles painted in green and red, at Rs 175 to Rs 1,100), shopping bags and baskets (Rs 75 to Rs 400), candle stands (Rs 30-350), table lamps (Rs 300-4,000), wind chimes (Rs 175-400), and so on.

Since 1992, when they began, Minhazz and Shahriyar have amassed a word-of-mouth reputation for their bamboo products. Their most popular `lines' are the bathroom and garden range. Bamboo is water-resistant so it makes a great alternative to the synthetic fibre and plastic we fill our bathing spaces with. On offer are soap dishes, toilet paper holders, towel stands and racks, bathmats and toothbrush holders (priced between Rs 30-490). For the garden (or for your little bits of terrace green, if you live on upper storeys), there are bamboo umbrellas (Rs 5,000), planters (Rs 250-750), candle stands and other bits of furniture.

Bamboo, or the humble baans, has come a long way from its traditional usage — fishing rods, baskets and smoking pipes. Now it is being made into bamboo flooring, reconstituted boards and roofing.

Says Minhazz, "The idea of our workshop is to promote bamboo products as they make enormous ecological and economic sense, and to connect craftspeople who live in remote areas with today's trends."

I come away with a tray sporting emerald green handles. Minhazz assures me it will last for at least 20 years, sans stains.

Little oases of magic

If bamboo is long-lasting, glass, which is among the most delicate of materials, invites possession for its sheer beauty. Especially stained glass, which has the ability to not just light up spaces, but also make them little oases of magic. Arjun Upadhya, who creates a whole range of great-looking products (it's a travesty to call them products, actually, but it will do for want of a better word), out of stained glass, has learnt on the job, from his sister Aruna, who has been professionally trained. Now his entire family, including partner Viny, a journalist in her other life, works with glass.

"You have to be in love with stained glass to want to have it around you," says Arjun, who has no doubts where his priorities lie; in his earlier avataar he used to be a software programmer.

At their workshop, appositely called Kaanch (Hindi for glass), in DLF Gurgaon, in suburban Delhi, Arjun and Aruna display their wares... small lamps, sun catchers (pretty wall-hangings which, as the name suggests, catch the sunlight and break it into a million multi-coloured pieces), screens, partitions, panels, and the real big ticket numbers — the Tiffany-style lamps. You could pick up the ready stuff, but their USP is that they will customise, and create according to your needs and specifications.

Prices depend upon the kind of glass used (Indian or imported), the intricacy of the design, and the numbers of glass pieces. For example, a small one-piece glass slab that fronts a bulb, could cost as little as Rs 800; an eight-sided Tiffany-style lamp could start at Rs 15,000, and climb upwards. The sun catchers are priced between Rs 200-300, and can make interesting little gifts.

Some of the pieces remind you of the stained glass windows in medieval European cathedrals, especially a panel which has an intricate design of flowers and vines, in jewelled multi-coloured glass. Another arresting wall hanging has a tiger in black and green; when it is lit up from behind, it makes you stop and look.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Poles apart!

Copyright © 2004, 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