Right on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, in Byculla, just around the Zoo, stands a tall chimney, the only reminder of the once glorious New Great Eastern Mills that belonged to the Kanoria family. The once proud gates now stand silently. The compound and the entire mill area witness to wild grass and broken brick walls with no signs that a beautiful store stands inside.

But an eager client will find his or her way by following the only tar road that leads in. Look out for a signboard pointing towards the direction of the lifestyle shop, a white washed cottage-like area with wooden doors. The entrance has the magnificent elephant seat studded with precious stones and carries the emblem of the Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.

Suman Shah, the charming manager of the store took me around showing me some antique furniture, other imported ones and intricate pieces of art, hand made exclusively by their own carpenters and craftsmen. "Each piece of furniture is made using rosewood, walnut wood, or Burma teak. Sometimes our clients may want a particular piece of furniture made in a particular wood; we give what he wants directly from our workshop which is right next doors," says Suman with a smile.

The two-levelled store has furniture from all over the world. "Our head office is in London although the company is now entirely owned and run by Indians. A lot of furniture is imported from Europe. We have furniture designed and sent to us from Barcelona, Paris and other international cities. Our works of art come from various artists in Spain, France and Pakistan as well,” says Suman.

The store is unique not just for its collection of furniture but also its selection in crockery and panels. "Sometimes people want to buy a particular piece but they have no idea how to make it blend with their home. So we provide them with panels or backdrops that match the kind of furniture they want. They also have a choice of upholstery and flooring. All the panels are designed and painted here. Each one is different and goes with a specific piece of furniture," Suman concludes.

As we look through some of the panels and wooden flooring samples, we hear a voice in the background busy talking on the phone. "That is the owner of the shop, Anurag Kanoria," Suman tells me, as a young man walks towards me with his out stretched hand, ending his telephonic conversation. "Hi, I hope you found the place easily," he asks pleasantly, as I nod he continues, "I do realize that with our store pushed right inside the compound of the mill, we lose out on a lot of potential walk-in customers. However, the more serious clients who are ready to make that extra effort find the place. The dilapidated compound gives the store a feel of history. We chose this location only because of what we associate with the brand name. It helps create a natural aura," says the proud owner.

As we seat ourselves on a luxurious sofa which is for sale, Kanoria starts telling me about their clients. "We opened the store only recently, since we are so niche, business can be expected to be slow. Nevertheless, with increasing spending power, Indians are ready to experiment with their homes and furniture. We get a lot of NRI's coming in too. In fact, the increasing demand for luxury and classic furniture has prompted us to open a store in Riyadh. We hope to expand within India and in Europe as well," he adds.

Every piece of furniture crafted is a limited edition. "Our clients expect exclusivity from us. Therefore we make sure not to do repeats. There will be not more than six pieces of furniture of any one design, sometimes that number may go up to 12 but in that case we make sure to send six away to Riyadh. That way, we can ensure that all the pieces are well spread out and the chance of someone finding an identical piece in someone else's home is almost negligible," says Kanoria.

The store has also been working on a line of crockery. From dinner plates and side plates coated with 22 carat gold to shot glasses, beer mugs and water glasses; all of them revolve around the safari theme. "We have something new every month. Each glass is hand etched or hand painted. This month all our lamps are made of brass. Next month we are thinking of introducing copper lamps”, says Kanoria.

The team has been putting in a lot of effort to preserve the traditional arts from India. "We are looking to incorporate a lot of it in upholstery and handcrafted furniture. The sad part is, Indians do not know the worth of the dying arts, but the Europeans do" laments Kanoria.

A lot of antiques have made their way to the store from the Orient. "But it is always the European furniture that is more saleable. No other type of furniture is actually very practical when it comes down to using it. The only thing that is authentically India and very practical is the charpoy" Kanoria exclaims.

East India Company Home,
25-29 Dr. Ambedkar Road,
Inside New Great Eastern Compound,
Byculla East, Bombay.
Phone No: 22910764
Suman Shah: 9869164813