Visited THE most enchanting haunt called Tribal Route, the other day. A friend and his business partner discovered two ram-shackled old cottages in Versova, and transformed them into two very cosy, colourful, unpretentious home décor stores.
One houses everything from earrings to chappals, candles, mugs and other trinkets, and the price range begins from Rs 20. This one’s a solid destination to pick up your yearly supply of gifts for friends, family, bosses, the works, because the stuff has a good finish, the ambience is very serene and the place smells great, too.
The other cottage has household stuff like wooden sofas, curtains, cutlery, cushions, art etc. Everthing is arranged rather casually. Yet, there’s a definite method in the madness. Now, since my friend is an interior designer, he also has great ideas to help customers do up their homes. Outside you have lots of plants and cheery coloured walls inside and outside, which thankfully are not loud or flashy.
And the toilets are F-U-N-K-Y. Even if you don’t wanna pee, it’s worth taking a peek.
For unexplainable reasons, the owners seem to have a fetish for frogs (inanimate ones). Frogs of all sizes and shapes, and made of several materials, lounge all over the place. These are not for sale, though. And if you want to gift a frog to the owner, it would delight him no end.
Now, the super thing about this place is that it’s not aggressively commercial. And yet, you feel like going back, because it’s so inviting, with its odd kichdi of old world charm, contemporariness, simplicity and flair.
Once you’re done with your shopping, or if you hate shopping, you can plonk yourself outside on a chair, diwan or couch, and sip chai, smoke a ciggi, chat, or play with Brazil and Mexico, two teething puppy dogs, whose current idea of fun is to gnaw at your arm.
