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Lifestyle
The Shahs live, rural style, in a Mumbai skyscraper apartment
The Week: June 19, 2005:
By Quaied Najmi
A diamond merchant and his family living in a Mumbai
skyscraper apartment splattered with cow dung? Social worker and chief of
the Samast Mahajan Trust, Girish Shah, is true to his roots. Everything in
Shah’s 1,600 sq.-ft flat at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai has a touch of
rustic charm. The doorbell is a thick multi-coloured cotton string attached
to a hook with a tiny bell. Pull on it and a brass bell booms inside, like
the temple bells in villages. "Very soothing and divine, isn’t it? Visitors
are surprised by this,’’ Shah, in his mid-40s, says.
Shoes remain at the door, and you step onto a brown floor made of one-inch
thick cow dung spread evenly on a half inch base of clay. The advantage:
"After a hard day’s work, simply lie on this floor for an hour—you’ll be
completely refreshed!’’ Shah promises. The walls are plastered with
limestone powder. "It has a life-span of 60 years," says Shah.
He hired a team of artisans from Gujarat and Rajasthan for making the floors
and the walls. "It is very economical, at Rs 4,000 for the entire floor,
compared to Rs 400 to Rs 1,200 a square foot for granite, marble or marbo-granite,"
he says. The limestone-cow dung combination ensures that the place is free
of bugs and rodents. Besides, the housemaid lights a concoction of dry cow
dung, dry neem leaves, a dash of homemade butter and a pinch of camphor at
dusk. The incense is taken around the flat, making it the only one in the
building free of the infamous Mumbai mosquito menace.
Shah’s prime concerns are water and electricity conservation, living in a
pollution-free and eco-friendly environment, and imparting traditional
gurukul education to his kids. Though it is a warm and humid evening, Shah’s
home feels cool. There are no lights, fans or air-conditioners in the living
and dining rooms. A maid lights a dozen sesame oil lamps hung from the
ceiling. The other rooms have zero-watt bulbs. Shah says his monthly
electricity bill is less than Rs 200; neighbours run up bills of a few
thousand rupees.
Au naturale: The kids study in a gurukul
Contrary to the popular modular designs, Shah’s is a ‘sitting kitchen’. The
Cudappah platform is raised six inches from the floor; the lady of the house
sits and cooks—it is ergonomic and healthier. There is a medium-sized
refrigerator but ice-creams and chilled drinks are no-nos; the refrigerator
is just to keep foodstuff that could rot in Mumbai weather. Everything else
is natural—the foodstuff, organic; the soaps, shampoos and washing liquids,
Ayurvedic. "Everything is sourced from a grocer’s shop which specialises in
this. It is more expensive than the regular stuff, but it is worth it in
terms of health benefits,’’ says Shah’s wife, Kiran. |
Sons, Tanmay and Rishabh, and daughter Dhwani attend an exclusive gurukul
nearby. "I keep them away from television and movies," says Shah. "They are
trained in archery, which has done wonders for their concentration and
memory development." Computer usage is limited, even for Shah. An office
assistant brings home a laptop and takes it away after Shah is through with
his work.
The floor in the bedrooms is made of hand-cut teak tiles clamped together
without chemical adhesives or cement. Teak is the only natural material that
is insectproof, and water only makes it stronger and more durable. (In the
good old days, most ships and homes were made of teak.)
Traditions go still deeper. All utensils are made of silver, copper or
bronze; no Wedgwood china for the Shahs. Overhead water storage tanks, wash
basins and toilet seats are made of copper or bronze. "Copper prevents
digestive problems, cleanses the blood, cures acidity and makes the skin and
hair glow,’’ says Kiran.
Some visitors to the Shah household are so awed by the experience that they
try to emulate his example. At least 100 families have withdrawn their kids
from schools and put them in the gurukul that Shah’s children attend; some
have cut down electricity usage to the minimum. Others are taking to organic
food and have made meditation part of their routine.
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