Far from the chaos of the city, Abhilasha Ojha finds a spacious farmhouse transformed into an exotic sea of green
It’s a beautiful, sunny afternoon when we reach Rangoli, the very simple yet absolutely stunning farmhouse owned by Namita and Rahul Gautam. The Gautams are in the business of providing comfortable sleep to people all over the world, thanks to their company Sheela Foam (named after Rahul’s mother Sheela Gautam who has been a seasoned politician herself), which brings out, besides other products, ergonomically designed foam mattresses under the brand name Sleepwell. The company has posted a turnover of Rs 850 crore and continues to, under different labels of its parent company, supply foam to different brands all over the country.
Not surprisingly, the family keeps erratic schedules and it’s no wonder that the residents (the couple lives with their son and daughter-in-law) return every evening to a home that exudes a zen-like charm. Spread over five acres of sprawling — and extremely lush green — land, Rangoli, explains Namita, “was named because I simply love colours”. Green emerges as the dominating colour and the driveway offers us a peek into the running theme in this home.
“Lots of natural sunlight, tremendous greenery, immense varieties of trees and many, many open spaces — you’ll find it here,” laughs Namita. The driveway, dotted with green foliage, leads us to the entrance while I rest my gaze on a dragonfly that buzzes around us. “I wanted to continue exploring the space,” says Namita, leading us into the main hall that emerges soon after we’ve crossed the portico and admired the large-sized bronze urns that rest on either side of the entrance while Namita urges us to take a closer look at the intricate calligraphy.
The home, in a way, is a throwback to the Raj era what with the amply proportioned rooms, their ceilings high, fitted on which are fans that hang from the topmost point, large glass windows which allow sunlight to stream in. It’s perfect, I murmur to myself, while enjoying the silence only occasionally broken by the chirping of birds, the humming of fans, a distant sound of utensils as well as the sound of water .
Designed by architect Sabyasachi Sen, the house spreads over two floors and has, apart from the swimming pool and the gym area, an amphi-theatre, tennis and badminton courts. “The space was designed as a weekend getaway but it was so beautiful that we moved here permanently,” smiles Namita.
While the first floor houses the living room, dining area, two guest rooms and a simple lounge, the ground floor is where the family has private spaces, including bedrooms. What’s also interesting is the manner in which Namita has assembled the many curios from different parts of the world. An elaborately jewelled and intricately carved Burmese horse puppet has been, for instance, suspended from atop the ceiling and emerges as a connecting strand between the two floors.
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A Banarasi dupatta is hooked on a wrought iron stand for better display, Madhubani paintings are fixed to give an otherwise plain wooden door a facelift. There are ample “winners” in the Gautam household, including a set of Rajasthani miniature paintings on ivory that dot one of the many walls, the now-dying Mathura stencilled paper art that’s sandwiched between the two glasses of the main door of the living room, and most impressively, rows of bamboo “chiks” (the ones available with your local vendor) that have been taped with Velcro and hungon the ceiling!
We’re walking along a pebbled pathway that runs along the entire green stretch of the farmhouse while Namita — also a keen gardener herself — is feeding us information on her trees and plants. With more than 150 varieties of trees, including even maple trees — yes, that’s right — and rudraksh trees and several other varieties, the home is an exotic sea of green.
On our way out, we stop to look at Namita’s growing collection of bells that hang near the entrance to the farmhouse. There are bells from Israel, China, Brazil, Bethlehem, Nepal, Burma and from places in India. She rings one of them and the farmhouse resonates with the sound while we experience the home’s positive vibe once again.
We take a deep breath. Away from this tranquil experience, the dust and grime of the city awaits us.