#HousesOfIndia Story 68 - Mohan

A grand entrance, to a house with a grand legacy. Located in Garli, a heritage village in the foothills of Himachal is Mohan Niwas, named after the owner Rai Bahadur Mohan Lal. The title of Rai Bahadur was bestowed upon him for his philanthropic contributions to society. A man of great stature, he led a lavish existence with his family of two wives and eight children, in this mini-fortress of sorts which has 10 rooms spread over two floors. Adding to its fort-like look is the Rajasthani design gate with a high archway that was designed to allow the entry of camels into the aangans to disseminate supplies.

The house is more than a hundred years old. In the early 1890s, when its construction started, the only building material was the brick that was locally available. A look at the layout of the house and one finds that everything was foreseen, and planned really well for its time. The story goes that the architect of the house was probably a European because all the houses were designed by British architects of that time.

Meet the current owners, Atul & Ira Lal. Atul is the great grandson of Rai Bahadur Mohan Lal. Having spent most of childhood outside of the village as a corporate executive, he now wants to dedicate his retired life towards the economic upliftment of his village. As for his wife Ila, she runs a self-help group for women in her courtyard, where she gives them designs inspired by the history of the village. 

Leaving everything and coming back to the village was a rather impromptu decision. They were just sitting and talking one day when they asked themselves why they were in Delhi when they have such a lovely house to live in. With both their daughters settled and just a few years left to retire, they shifted lock, stock and barrel, a decision which they’re quite happy with. They’ve repaired the house in such a way that while the exteriors have an old-world look, the interiors have a more contemporary feel.

This Photo Essay was made exclusively for Housing.com for their campaign 'Houses of India'.

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Breakfast at Territi Bazaar

Recap of/Reliving last Sunday's breakfast at this hidden gem in Territi Bazaar, Kolkata. The Chinese breakfast market (read: about five indecisive tables placed less than a feet from each other) begins at 6am, and just as quickly as it was set up, is closed by 8am. 
The vendors, once used to be only people of Chinese descent, but now are mostly manned by hired helps who are migrants from within the state. The patrons, are a motley of students and parents on their way to school, hungover college students, working professionals as well as more than one enthu photographers like me.
Aside from the regulars like steamed and fried momos, thukpa and soup, the must tries here include something called the Laal Maas Bun which is basically a gigantic MOMO the size of a regular sized burger, stuffed with a filling of fiery red fried pork. And for those more daring, try the mixed fish and pork momo. You get it for 30 rupees a piece. It is an acquired taste, this last one!
Try it out the next time you're in the 'City of Joy'. And for those who are already in the city but haven't been there, 'What are you waiting for?! let this be the motivation!'.

 

  

  

  

   

  

 

I've shot video clips and interviews as well for this.

For those interested in watching the video, do become my Patron at Patereon.com.

Venky S

Samar Puri