An upcoming exhibition of furniture and artefacts is likely to instil more than a wisp of nostalgia as it puts on centre stage pieces from a bygone era. Photos: Swapnil Joshi. Words: Marisha Karwa
Potted plants line the slope leading to the basement at 201, Walkeshwar Road. Men quietly go about their work, using paper, plastic sheets and strings to carefully wrap everything from lamps and cabinets to mirrors and artefacts. The quietude is interrupted when 42-year-old Chiki Doshi strides upon the floor's mosaic tiles, walking through the maze of furniture, greeting visitors, mouthing instructions and attending to phone calls between drags on his gradually-burning out cigarette. Welcome to the House of Mahendra Doshi.
Chiki and his brothers — 50-year-old cousin Anand Gandhi and 40-year-old sibling Asim — are busy preparing for their furniture exhibition, a biennial shindig that vintage-loving Mumbaiites eagerly wait for. This year, the brothers will put on display more than 200 pieces of painstakingly restored furniture and artefacts from the days of yore. Among the gems that they have infused fresh life into are a 1.5-tonne iron safe, a fragrant camphor wood chest and a grand mahagony wood wardrobe.
"This exhibition is special because a lot of the furniture is what we grew up with," says Chiki. "We've acquired these pieces from across south India, from Goa of the Portuguese period, from the colonial times in Bombay and from Gujarat. We also have ethnic and tribal artefacts."
The exhibition will run from 30 January 2015 to 2 February 2015 at the Coomaraswamy hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya from 11am-7pm.
1) BLUE ALTAR
This altar is believed to have come from a small chapel or church in Goa. It has been waxed to allow the colour to shine through.
2) RED SAFE
The brothers acquired this 1.5-tonne brass and iron safe from a dealer in Kerala about two years ago. Anand Gandhi spent nearly a month to restore the safe. Work included extensive oiling to get the safe's mechanics in working condition.
The safe is 5ft tall and about 2.5ft wide. It has been painted red. Three locks need to be unlocked to access the main safe. Inside the two front doors are paintings of Goddess Lakshmi and of Vishnu, considered to be auspicious.
3) CHEST OFDRAWERS/DESK
This colonial-era chest is made of fragrant camphor wood. Originally, a two-part chest, it has now been made into one piece.
4) JAZZ FIGURINES
Two members of a jazz quartet. The four fibre figurines were acquired from an art collector
5) WARDROBE
This three-section wardrobe, dubbed the jhanda cabinet, is made entirely of mahagony wood.
6) SOFA SET
This thick-armed sofa set is a classic example of the post-art deco period.
7) CHEST
This Portuguese-inspired teak chest features ebony and brass fittings.
8) SEPOYS
These six figurines, termed 'Bharat sena sepoys' are children's toys from another era. As corner table decor pieces, these can be instant conversation starters.
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