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.
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