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malleshwaram

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Good Morning! How was your weekend? It was quite a hectic one here, but in a nice way.

Have you ever stopped in the middle of a street to click something interesting? I’m guessing you have countless times, if you are a blogger!  Even, otherwise, there are so many amazing glimpses any city has to offer.  And, one such is graffiti. Last night, I was watching “Ten things to see before you say bye  to Melbourne” on NDTV Good Times.  One of the spots I got hooked onto was Hosier Lane. You’ve got to see the images to believe it. It’s a concoction of some pleasant and wild images, colorful and monochromatic ones,  from calming images of Ganehsa to disturbing ones like Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Joker in the Dark Knight, and personalities and places. But, in all, I loved what I saw and is definitely one of the things I’d like to see before I say bye.  The best or worst part is that the art keeps changing – what you see this month may not be around the next time you go visiting.

Graffiti is often considered as vandalism and seen in bad taste; so, the art is done swiftly in a clandestine manner.  But, there are quite a few meaningful ones executed brilliantly in good taste -ones that make you stop in your tracks and makes you click pictures. Closer home, in Bangalore, I spotted these on the walls of Max Mueller Bhavan at Indira Nagar.

If not for this visual treatise, these walls would have been home to movie or political posters or a message like “please do not stick posters.”

Siddharth Sreekumar lives with his wife, brother and parents at his parents’ flat in Malleshwaram, Bangalore. We visited his parents one Saturday in January. I did not plan on shooting the interiors but after seeing the elegantly done flat I couldn’t resist asking.

You may wonder why I call it a haveli if it’s only a 3-BHK flat. Well, because that’s the feeling I got and I’m sure you’ll agree as you scroll down. They live in perhaps the most busiest part of Bangalore where it becomes impossible to step out of the apartment building in the weekends. But the house more than makes up for lack of outside entertainment. The pleasant interiors exudes a sense of warmth and the perfect atmosphere for the family to spend their weekends together after a hectic week.

It’s not a exaggeration when I tell you it took aunty over an hour to show me through the 3-bedroom flat and still it was far from over. Every piece of artifact and furniture has either been hand-picked or has been passed down generations. It was like a story unfolding in front of me with a tale behind every vase and chest in the house. For instance, can you believe the vase in the picture below is a artillery shell? Siddharth’s father used to serve in the defence forces before retiring. Hats off to aunty for carefully preserving memories and putting them to good use decades later in settings where one would least expect.

There is no room for modern in this house. The place oozes antiquity from every corner.

Home Tour: Sreekumars’ haveli in Bangalore

The view from the main door of the foyer and the drawing room. The aroma of fresh Rajnigandha was mesmerising.  The drawing room has a royal yet homely and cosy feeling.

The wooden oonjal is supported by intricately designed brass chains on four ends. It is flanked by equally majestic antique furniture set from Nosttaligia.Facing the oonjal by the side of the french window is a silk upholstered diwan.

Isn’t it so much better to be used than be stashed away in the lofts and forgotten forever? This laundry basket definitely looks stylish than the store-bought plastic or jute baskets. So on your next trip to your granny’s if it’s not being used, you know what to ask for :)