Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

immediately treated to a thoughtful
review of a bountiful assortment of
details in the living room. The open entry
into the living room is bordered on either
side by two tall wooden lions and a
massive (about 5’ by 7’) carved wooden
Newari window graces the far wall. “I
found the window in a discarded state in
the wood carver Himal’s workshop in
Lalitpur,” informs Kewal. “I had to buy
it and yes, it cost me quite a bunch,
around Rs.75,000.” Seemingly, it is
different due to the fact that the central
carving is that of the god Suryanarayan
instead of the usual peacock. From the
ceiling hangs a miniature copper/brass
alloy Krishna Mandir that was improvised
by Kewal himself to serve as an
interesting lampshade. Cost? Rs.9,000.
On both sides of the fireplace stand two
tall clay ‘panas’ (tall Newari lamp). At first
sight they seem to be made of gilded
metal but are in fact of clay.
Four similarly styled but smaller carved
wooden panas, gilded to give a metallic
appearance, hold up a large square glass
sheet to make up a centre table that
becomes a conversation piece in front
of the long low height wooden sofas set
at right angles. According to Kewal, each
of the smaller panas table-stands cost him
Rs.8000 each. “But it was worth it,” he
says. “See how intricately they have been
designed!” R.S. Interiors was the creator
and in fact, they have done most, if not
all the furniture in the house. A couple
of circular wooden tables holding statues
of the gods Bhairav and Ganesh, are
placed around the room as well as a
couple of other smaller glass tables with
objects like clay vats (plain and with
dragon designs) serving as stands. It has
to be said that almost all the tables in the
house are quite unique in style. And none
80 SEP-OCT 2005 SPACES