Hello! Exclusive
Anita Lal
The Founder and Creative Head
of Good Earth opens her home
and heart to HELLO! about
inspirations and influences that
have made her the empress of
all things beautiful
Anita wears a gorgeous hand-woven
chanderi saree embellished with chikankari
and mukaish from Lucknow, designed inhouse as a part of their saree collection (left)
hen the Good Earth Company was
W
originally set up in 1948, it was to
sell and service imported tractors. Over
the years it metamorphosed to Eicher
Good Earth, India’s leading automotive
company manufacturing motorbikes,
Volvo buses and trucks. But while Eicher
remains the name that propagates Good
Earth’s vast and splendid automotive
history, it is Anita Lal, the daughter-inlaw of the Good Earth founder, that has
given the brand a totally new dimension!
Eighteen years ago, she started with a
138 HELLO! august 2014
store that was talked about not just for the
beautiful ware it stocked but also the way
it was built and designed. Beauty became
Good Earth’s USP. And it continues to
revolutionise creative consciousness in
people’s lifestyle choices. From lamp
shades to artefacts and objects of utility
– quilts, utensils, incense and candles,
Anita’s brand has ushered in the realm of
luxury in Indian craft when it comes to
everyday life.
Anita’s home is a world unto itself – full
of surprises, colour, motifs and mirrors –
all resonating Indian glamour. Red, blue, indigo,
pink, green, yellow – there isn’t a colour on the
palette that you will not spot in the house, which
was originally built in 1960. “I love colour,”
announces Anita unequivocally. The imposing
house in the VIP Chanakyapuri zone of Delhi
was designed by German architect Heinz along
with crucial and creative inputs by her fatherin-law M M Lal, the founder of Eicher Good
Earth. The home as we see it has retained its
original avatar in many ways. The architectural
elements remain more or less intact and one
finds old doors, iron grills, marble flooring,
chandeliers and beautiful hand-woven carpets
that have been retained from M M Lal’s times.
M M Lal and his wife Brinda were a couple
known for their savoir faire and refined tastes.
“I got married into an aesthetically inclined
family. My in-laws were very stylish. I also learnt
a lot from Sheila Bharatram, my father-in-law’s
sister. In fact my father-in-law is someone who
deeply influenced me. My introduction to style
was through him.” Pointing at the living room
pillars, Anita continues, “For instance, these
pillars were his idea. He wanted to recreate a
courtyard look inspired by the haveli in Hissar.”
She adds, “Originally the living room did
not have a ceiling but practical compulsions
made him eventually think of a concrete roof
although he toyed with the idea of putting clear
glass as well.” Lal talks to us about a time when
few Indians really put their energy and personal
effort into keeping a good home. It was a
privilege of the rich but even the rich were not
wont to such natural tendencies for aesthetics
in interiors. In fact for a long time, the average
Indian believed in investing in gold and bank
savings but spending money on enriching one’s
habitable spaces was a luxury few wanted
HELLO! august 2014 139
Hello! Exclusive
A glittering candelabra from Good Earth in pewter finish with beveled crystals and simple white tapers makes
an elegant style statement (above). A large mirrored coffee table takes centre stage in the living area full of
travel treasures and craft collectibles from Good Earth (below)
In the dramatic dining room Anita used fabric
from Good Earth’s Golkonda collection inspired
by Tipu Sultan’s tent to upholster the walls
around the antique furniture inherited from her
husband’s family’s Hissar haveli. An Italian
chandelier with large uncut crystals and Venetian
mirrors enhances the glamour quotient
to hazard.
That is where Good Earth and Anita stepped
in. She is amongst the first in India to set up a
home décor store that looked different to what
the craft loving hoi polloi was exposed to –
their haunt being the government run Cottage
Industries Emporium. Inadvertently, Lal’s
brand became instrumental in encouraging
clients to guiltlessly enjoy the luxury of colour
and quality in their homes, triumphing over
durability that all Indians were addicted to. “It
amazed me that we as Indians had so much
colour in our lives but when it came to our
homes we would only settle for browns, beiges
and maroons – colours that were supposedly
durable! In my travels across the country I would
see, no matter what, people would always wear
bright shades. To me, colour meant happiness.
I wanted to bring that part of India into our
140 HELLO! august 2014
homes,” she reiterates.
She’s brought ample of the same into her
own home. From walls that range from pink
to wallpapers with bright motifs and silken
upholstery in natural dyes – all are part of the
paraphernalia in the interiors of her house. The
dining chairs are upholstered in an interesting
way – each chair standing on its own and
covered with silk, in a different colour. As one
moves from room to room, the common theme
is her ability to play with a multi-hued palette
as well as mirrors in all shapes and sizes. The
art in the house is however a contribution made
by her husband. “That is the first painting we
bought together,” she says pointing to a Jehangir
Sabavala. In fact, the interior of the house in
its entirety is evocative of the widespread craft
traditions of India – you won’t find the regular
silver, brocade and faux fur that are trademark
features of Delhi’s elite homes – instead her
pièce de résitance collectibles are those made by
traditional craftsmen – from the indigo workers
of South India to the ajrak workers of Bhuj and
the phulkari craftsmen of Punjab – their labour
lends this house its essential character.
Anita is not just a colour fanatic but also a
rebel that stands against stereotypes. One of
the first changes she brought into this home was
in ripping off the heavy maroon silken curtains
that were hung in the living room. “Earlier the
house had a very formal old-world look. I made
it more unstructured. I didn’t quite understand
the concept of making a living room formal
with heavy dark curtains. I wanted to bring in as
much light as possible. Curtains are great in the
bedroom but here I felt we could really do with
the view of the outdoors,” she says. The living
room is flanked by a pool view on one side and
a natural garden on the other. “I don’t like
manicured gardens,” she says looking out to
the green patch outside that has taken on a
lush green texture in the monsoons.
Over the years, her travels and exposure
to various cultures, civilisations and
interactions have shaped her creativity –
from a blank canvas to new patterns that
are quickly mapped on to her hyperactive
mind. She starts everyday with new ideas
and builds on them and while at home,
she thinks of work, and while at work she
thinks of ideas. She confesses to doing a lot
of research and reading – music being her
constant companion. There is Rashid Khan
playing in the background as she rearranges
the jigsaw of her creative journey with us.
Anita grew up between Khadagvasla and
Chandigarh where she studied Psychology.
HELLO! august 2014 141
Hello! Exclusive
‘I believe true style is when your
home reflects who you are and what
you love regardless of trends’
Anita takes a moment out to sit back and enjoy a cup of tea at her Delhi home. Conversational seating areas
where prints and textures create a vibrant splash within pristine white pillars and arches that create a room
within a room segment the large living area. Her intense connection to nature inspired Anita to remove all
curtains and bring the garden into the living room using sheets of glass along one wall and French windows
on the opposite side of the room. The gardens are lit at night and create a magical mood
“My father was a professor of English,” she
informs. Some strains of genetic interest in
poetry have filtered down to her although she
denies any conscious artistic pursuits in her
growing up years. “But my room always looked
different. Sometimes I would paint on the walls
and do murals,” she shares, recalling early traces
of interest in interiors. “I never really thought I
would have a career in this field,” she confesses.
“My first introduction to craft was when I
started learning studio pottery under Minie
Singh in Delhi,” she recalls. “The streak was
there. I realised it when I wanted to revive rural
pottery once I started learning,” she elaborates.
Her husband Vikram Lal (former Chairman
of Eicher Motors) indulged her and when she
suggested the idea of setting up a store to him…
he immediately agreed. Marriage to Vikram
has also ensured assimilating inspiration from
her varied exposure to diverse societies and
cultures. “We lived in Germany when Vikram’s
work had taken us there,” she recalls adding,
“We lived in a beautiful place. In Germany I
also met Helga Logos, a sophisticated woman
and an artist, who became my mentor. She
introduced me to this beautiful store in Munich
called Dei Ein Richtung – that is the first time
I saw a store decorated with tall plants and
beautiful glass – they even kept Indian pichwais
– it left an impression on me.”
She continues on her journey from
142 HELLO! august 2014
being a housewife and mother to accidental
businesswoman. “Good Earth didn’t start as
a business venture. For me, it isn’t one even
today. God has been kind, we’ve done well but
it took us 16 years before we started making
profits,” explains the reluctant businesswoman.
The brand was established as a by-product of
a shopping expedition for her elder daughter
Simran’s trousseau. Curiously, she has even
passed on the mantle to Simran letting her
run the business while offering to be Creative
Head. “When my daughter was getting married
I went abroad to shop for her. While shopping,
I often wondered as to why we couldn’t create
something similar in India. I came back and
told my husband I wanted to start a store and
he supported me wholeheartedly,” says Anita.
“But when things have to happen one thing
leads to the other,” she explains as we chat in
her dining room sipping cups of tea. She likes
her tea a certain way and is particular about
having only a drop of milk in it sans any sugar.
It’s something she’s passionate about, almost as
much as she is about her work and Good Earth.
The walls of her dining room are covered
with a motif inspired by Tipu Sultan’s royal
tent (now in the UK). The bright wallpaper
has been off-set with sheer white curtains with
embroidered dragonflies – they come to life as
light filters in. In fact, nature inspires her – she’s
just returned from Samarkand and Farkghana
where she went with a bunch of young team
members. Her team indeed is the blood supply
to her creative veins. “Earlier we went to Bali.
We all have a lot of fun and celebrate our
work. I have a young team and it’s thanks to
them that Good Earth is running well.” She
continues, “I love places of nature. In the good
old days one went to Mussourie and Dehradun
and now we travel all over, meeting craftsmen
and working with new ideas with them. I felt
in India, we were gradually moving away
from taking pride in all things Indian. Once
Good Earth started, I started realising that one
of the things I wanted to do was restore that
pride in India amongst fellow Indians about
appreciating our craft, our music and culture,”
she says. She’s uses her brand to fulfill that
exercise – marrying craft with utility in a new
mould that is attractively packaged. “Like the
Kansa utensils. They’ve done very well. We
had forgotten to use those in our daily lives
but I am trying to bring it back. One of the
other things we do, is once we start working
with a craftsman, we don’t stop. Our Kansa
craftsman tells us he does not want to expand
anymore,” she says satisfied at having made a
difference to his life.
India is at the heart of Anita’s creative
agenda. In fact even the brand’s porcelain and
china also have Indian motifs such as the palm
tree and the bulbul. “But that is not to say we
are not inspired by other places – I would say
in totality my inspiration starts in Turkey and
ends in India and India is a major part of it.”
Making India go international is part of the
plan. Although she’s still resisting the constant
demand to launch Good Earth abroad, there is
a large foreign and NRI clientele that visits the
eight stores currently spread across the country.
Starting as a store for home ware, Good Earth
is now a complete lifestyle brand – from cafés
to apparel and an interiors division that goes
by the name, Charbagh, the brand is growing
exponentially, despite the fact that it started as
a housewife’s experiment. Although Anita Lal
is on the power list of business federations and
has won awards by reputed organisations, she
doesn’t care much for those, and dismisses it
with a flicker of her fingers as we approach that
discussion. “I want to be able to do something
for the country and that’s what I want to do
with Good Earth. It doesn’t matter to me as
to how much money I make or who gives me
awards. For me it’s a passion” she emphasises.
India indeed inhabits her mind space
and her habitat. It’s a sufficient idea she
wants to push to insufficient boundaries.
It’s an impression that not only extends in
her personality but also her home. HELLO!
comes back with a patriotic lesson journeying
H
through India’s vast craft journey.
TEXT: SANGHITA SINGH
PHOTOS: PRANOY SARKAR
STYLING: AMBER TIKARI
MAKE-UP & HAIR: TEJASVINI CHANDER