My Den / Sharda Dwivedi

Old world charm would be the best way to describe the setting in Sharda Dwivedi's stately Churchgate home, the better part of which would b...

Old world charm would be the best way to describe the setting in Sharda Dwivedi’s stately Churchgate home, the better part of which would be best described as a bookshelf. Quite befitting for a historian, especially one as vibrant as her subject — Mumbai. A rocker next to the massive bookshelf facing a book stand is what she calls her special corner of the world. On the other side, you can peep down into a multitude of Mumbai scenery. Part of the Arabian Sea, some greenery, cars, vendors, a few beggars.

"I sit here for hours, reading, watching the world, and compiling

my ideas. A major part of the work gets done on my computer, but this is where I do my thinking," she says.

Questions about how long it took her to do up the massive hall lead to a trip down memory lane. "When we got this house, it was empty. And we started life with two cane chairs and a whole lot of books, books and more books. Those were our only treasures and ones we were keener on preserving than thinking about how to do up our place. All that you see today is a part of build up. We’ve collected over the years — a knick-knack here, a piece there. Like those urns," she points out to an impressive collection of brass urns and pots neatly aligned on top of the bookshelf. "They have come from my mother’s home and my mother-in-law’s home. They were castaways, which I just loved so much, that I decided to keep them." Then there is an ornately carved table that belonged to Dadabhai Naoroji, which is fondly called the `DN Table’ in the household, picked up in an auction. There is a range of brass figurines in conference on yet another table that was picked up at a time when brass was going out of season. "I got some of them for as little as five rupees!" she exclaims. And the process of making home beautiful still goes on in the Dwivedi household…