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