Having shifted into their new residence just a few months ago, Raseel Gujral and Naveen Ansal are now completely at peace, finds Abhilasha Ojha.
R aseel Gujral, ensconced in an ecru-coloured sofa, looks around her own home and shakes her head in disbelief: “I’m so fond of colour but I don’t know why I went in for a white palette here.” Gujral, a renowned name in in the field of “interior architecture” (that’s the term she prefers), isn’t unhappy though.
Not at all. Instead, she’s amazed at how someone like her, who usually prefers splashes of colour on the walls, has, this time around, created a home which is so very pristine, calming, and yes, white.
Gujral’s new home is an enigma really. Its huge gates open to immediately reveal a tremendous space; vast patches of green dotted to perfection with flowering pots, and a gorgeous driveway that, having just bathed in water, exudes that unmistakable earthy scent.
We spot one of the many bikes that Gujral’s husband, Naveen Ansal, a complete bike aficionado, owns. The feel is resort-like. Taking one away from the maddening city rush and traffic snarls and transporting one, with effervescent ease, into an environment which is serene and warming.
The interiors are uncluttered. Once again, there is a sense of immense space to to enable you to soak in the pleasures of the décor. There’s a fascinating chandelier that we spot as soon as we enter the living room that offers a view of the trimmed lawns outside.
Unlike the chunks of glass (or crystal) that usually go into creating a typical chandelier, here, a cluster of cut-glass pieces have been arranged at different levels to make a striking impact. The pieces include vases and bottles but the end-result is something magically transformed.
I’m so consumed by it that for the next hour-and-a-half, I find myself turning, in absolute surprise, to the lights, admiring all the time how Gujral has created “art” in her home so subtly.
Speaking of subtlety, my eyes shift to a very simple durrie in jute that is in the centre of the living room. You heard it right: No Persian carpets, no expensive floor coverings, just a simple, large-sized durrie, whose corners Gujral has covered in a silver-coloured synthetic fabric.
And that’s what we love about this residence: It spells elegance, it spells class, without really screaming it from the top. You’ll have rose petals floating easily in bowls in one area of the living room while a Birendra Pani artwork settles easily on to the walls to get attention.
A set of three Chhotu Lal paintings are mounted on one wall in the living room. “I wanted the art to breathe,” says Gujral, taking us on a quick tour of the rest of the home.
And really how the art in this Gujral-Ansal home breathes! If Pani is what catches your eye, there’s a Sabrata Saha in the other space that doubles up as the “fun room” with a modest dining table in one corner.
There are works by some upcoming artists which have obviously caught Gujral’s eye — those by artists like Binoy Varghese and Mohd Aziz. “Yes, there’s an absence of colour,” Gujral says laughing, back to the central theme, “but what could I do! I was in a phase where I thought it was time for my home to look white and offer a clean palette.”
The main entrance is a long, running corridor, a passageway where, on either side, we find not just classy knick-knacks but also a sculpture or two by renowned artist, and her father, Satish Gujral.
Not having visited their earlier home but having heard so much about the design aesthetics of it, I ask the couple if it was difficult to strip down the art, the design elements and aesthetics of one home and shift permanently to another one. After all, the couple had lived there for almost a decade.
“We are thankfully accepting of change,” says Ansal, who explains that it was absolutely easy for him and his wife to shift. “There was also an urgent need,” clarifies Gujral, who says that by the time they planned to shift to their new home, “the need was desperate.” The process of shifting too happened in a very methodical manner, says Ansal, who says that the work was done smoothly and effortlessly.
We’re soaking in the pleasures afforded by the residence, sipping on wonderful tea, after having looked at the pool with a spectacular view of green lawns.
There’s a fascination that Gujral has with conches and decorative little boxes. So, in one tray, we find some beautiful pieces. (I also find others in different corners of the house.) Some are intricately worked on in black ink, others are tiny enamel boxes, decorative ones and some with innovative designs and patterns.
At this point of our visit, I feel transported into a fantasy land, imagining that the contents in these trays are all telling us a story. Gujral laughs at the suggestion but agrees that since these were picked up from different parts of the world, the trinkets may have their own stories.
We walk out feeling energised by the residence. I look at the setting sun and the changing colours of the sky. Gujral’s got all the lights switched on and I turn back to take one last look. While we move out into the world of chaos, the owners of this residence sink back into their world of calm.
