You go through a maze of a beautiful place, wandering from one room holding treasures and goodies, through a winding passage, taking in the elegance and artistry of the space as much as the objects in it. No, this is no dream or Freudian reference being made here.
Anyone in Bengaluru who has gone in for a spot of retail therapy at one of the city's boutiques housed in a heritage bungalow will know this experience. Browse through a collection of handmade textiles hung up on an ancient mirror frame, walk through a sunlit courtyard one lazy afternoon when you want to be away from the mall crowds, buy exclusive pieces of jewellery, admire handicraft, and then meet up with the girls over an unending session of tea at a cosy cafe.
Bengaluru’s many heritage bungalows have made way for vast spacious shopping spots that spell luxury, an airy breathing space, old world charm, an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere — an oasis of calm if you please, tucked away in a bustling area. It’s a win-win situation where the property is monetised, the owners/renters of the bungalow get to preserve the heritage space, the city gets to keep a landmark, untouched by land sharks, and it remains alive for people to experience and enjoy. Bengaluru has a host of old homes and bungalows that have taken on new form. Legendary architect Charles Correa’s house that he built for his daughter at Koramangala was one of the first to transform into a Fab India outlet in the 90s.
City-based designer Latha Puttanna says she’s lucky to inherit her husband’s grandfather’s 130-year-old home in Siddapura (near Lal Bagh), which since 1999 has been the workshop for her designer label Shrishti. It now also houses her boutique. The striking stone façade of the house in a tiny lane in Siddapura, inviting open courtyard, the tiled galleries on the first floor that overlook this space, the well in the backyard, the stone pillars, photos of her husband’s sisters in langa-dawani and moggina jadey on the walls…the ambience is a perfect match to Latha’s design sense and use of heritage textiles and fabrics.
“This is a heritage building no money can buy. It has an old-world charm, and it’s something I want to preserve. The house has a history to it — Bengaluru literally has grown around it — my husband’s family were the ooru patelas of Siddapura and there are stories in the family about how the British had to seek their permission before entering the city!” Latha’s family lived in the house till 1983; her grandson will be the fifth generation to inherit the place. The transition to a boutique space was pretty easy and convenient, points out Latha. “It’s a stone house, so the walls are solid. The old red oxide tiles, plaster of Paris column brackets, the elaborately carved pooja room door – we have retained all the original elements. We only added more rooms at the back of the building to expand the space. Nothing can beat a heritage house…It’s about the exclusivity of the space,” she deftly sums up.
Architect Naresh V. Narasimhan, who has worked on several heritage structure restoration projects in the city and is passionate about preserving it, believes that to a certain extent converting heritage structures into boutique spaces helps, but he has a point when he says “But how many can you have? Of course the spirit is there because many of these old buildings have a certain grace that is lacking in contemporary structures. Most of these boutiques sell lifestyle products — and that goes well with the idea of the space. It evokes nostalgia.”
Here are some of Bengaluru’s four famous spaces that each have a story to tell.
RAIN TREE
The vast expansive ground almost seems surreal, bang in the middle of bustling Bengaluru traffic. On the long winding approach to the house from the gate, you can’t miss the raintree that dominates the colossal compound, which now hosts the boutique’s parking area. The store, with a steep tiled roof, derives its name from this ancient tree.
The colonial bungalow which houses Rain Tree is around 60 years old. It was originally built by an Irishman as a private bungalow before being rented out as an office space. “None of my family have actually lived there,’ says Jaya Velu, who converted it into a boutique. “My reasons for coming up with the concept of Rain Tree were twofold: I wished to utilise the space in the least commercial manner possible, retaining the original look of the bungalow. I also wished to create an oasis in the heart of the city where people could leisurely browse and shop in a relaxed fashion amid a charming old-world surrounding.”
Raintree today is an upmarket lifestyle store which houses many brands such as Anokhi, Christina, Amrapali, Shades of India, Tulsi by Neeru Kumar, Ritu Kumar, Small Shop by Jason and Anshu and more.
The café: Rain Tree also houses a small quaint café that lets in the sunlight from the neighbouring lawn, and warms up its glossy tiled floors — a quiet place to settle down for a chat with the girls after a spot of retail therapy.
BASAVA AMBARA
The arched, long cobbled walkway to Basava Ambara, in the heart of Basavanagudi, sets the tone of the kind of space you will step into. It feel wonderful to be lost in a beautiful world of clothing and jewellery, going from one little room into another quiet little room. Basava Ambara is housed in the annexe of a building, which is around 115 years old. The awe-inspiring main building was and continues to be a private residence. The building is built in a colonial British raj style.
“The space is so welcoming with a beautiful garden area full of trees that it is perfect for a cafe and the inner space is apt for a store since it has many rooms to display various products,” says Reddy. “To go with the ambience of the building we do period furniture, vintage south Indian artefacts, handloom saris and antique jewellery.”
The café: The Rogue Elephant
Signature dish: The Avacado melon salad with honey mustard dressing, and the warm banana cake served with salted butter
CINNAMON
The pebbled yard, the building on an elevated platform, the imposing columns that form the entrance to the building — Cinnamon takes you into a vintage world with ease, right in the middle of one of Bengaluru’s oldest trading areas – Ulsoor. Cinnamon, a 16-year-old brand, moved into the current bungalow a year and a half ago. The building, over 120 years old, had been unused for a very long time and was in a very bad condition when we leased it, says Radhika Poddar who set up Cinnamon with husband Abhishek Poddar.
The building is right by the RBANMS School. The school is named after Rai Bahadur Arcot Narrainswamy Mudaliar Swamy, who was a philanthropist and social reformist who also wielded a fair amount of socio-political power in his time, says Radhika. She has preserved the documentation of how the building came to be and all the correspondence that went into the setting up of the place.
In 1876, the Great Famine began, afflicting south India for almost two years. Many children were orphaned, and stirred by their miserable condition, Mudaliar set up an orphanage. The foundation stone laid down for the building in November 1892 by His Excellency the Marquess of Lansdowne, the Viceroy and Governor General of India can still be spotted in a corner of the restored house with its accompanying sign – a fragment of regional history.
The Poddars had a deep desire to preserve the authenticity of this heritage building, so they decided to keep its structure intact, retaining wherever possible original elements of its construction. The building’s reconstruction and renovation with ace architect Soumitro Ghosh was undertaken with great care, says Radhika. “The original structure has been largely preserved, including the old flooring, pillars and wooden rafter ceiling beams. Ample natural light, window arches and stained glass displays along with an interior design that uses historic wooden latticework, canopies, and rustic mirrors or antique frame props builds an atmosphere of old-world charm.” All ornamental features in the limestone plaster have been maintained, yet they have gone the other extreme to make the space disabled-friendly by introducing ramps. The light-dappled central courtyard surrounded by huge columns makes a great space to lounge around in — and that’s where the café is located.
“The building is so beautiful and seemed to fit perfectly to what we had in mind. It’s a pity to see old structures being knocked down and big monstrous buildings come up in their place. This is what Bangalore was like sometime back. It’s nice to be able to retain some of its earlier charm,” concludes Radhika.
The café: Café Cassia
Signature dish: Corn & asparagus quiche with Thai spices, with mixed greens and curried chilli-lime mayo
THE HATWORKS BOULEVARD
The lovely mellow yellow building beckons you with just the huge nameplate facing Cunningham Road — The Hatworks Boulevard. The vast expanse is almost hidden away behind a regular commercial complex, making the space all the more enticing with a promise of being an oasis of peace. If you’ve been here, you would definitely be tempted to peep into their garden store, tucked away in one corner. The building used to house The Imperial Hat Works factory that manufactured made-to-order headgear for the British and Indian armed forces, and ‘pretied’ Mysore petas (turbans) for the Mysore Maharajah (there’s even a framed letter on display sent on behalf of the Maharajah, placing orders for a particular green one!).
“The building was part of our family home…It was actually my grandfather’s factory,” says owner and noted Bengaluru hospitality industry consultant Rishad Minocher. “According to records, the building is about 200 years old. It’s really in the colonial style, though my grandfather (Nadir Maneckjee) later added a few Parsi touches to it.” The building was restored between 2003 and 2004 with help from restoration consultant and architect Renu Mistry. “The red oxide flooring was replaced with Italian-style tiles — the original ones made by Bharath Tiles in Mumbai.” What you also can’t miss are the Burma teak false ceilings under the 30-foot-high Mangalore-tile roofs.
Rishad explains why the family decided to turn it into a lifestyle store: “My siblings were away from India, and the house was too big for my family. Old houses need to be lived in…I treat it as a living object. So we hit upon this idea.”
The Hatworks Boulevard houses, among others, the multi-designer store The Bombay Attic, the Footworks Spa, Bengaluru’s premier art resource ‘Crimson’, Bas Studio - bespoke men's wear, Eeshanya - classical Teak wood Furniture, Hybiscus - the garden store, YLG, and Lakiruu - The Wedding Lounge.
