Raseel Gujral Ansal has the kindest eyes and the warmest smile. Through the course of the evening of the launch of her passion project Arzaani, a luxury atelier at Bikaner House in Delhi, the celebrated lifestyle designer and entrepreneur with decades of experience in spaces and homes, apologises for not being able to sit down earlier for our scheduled chat. And, when we do, she is all heart. In her beautiful black Lucknowi sari, about 15 years old, “which was white and became a tired white”, so she dyed it black.
Congratulations! Arzaani looks amazing. What was the idea?
I’ve been working for so long, and then the opportunity arose because we did a couple of shows here over the past few years, and then we did a big exhibition here last year, and we heard that this space was coming up for bidding. So I thought it’d be fun because I’ve grown up in central Delhi. And, I’ve lived on a farm and outside of Delhi for the past 35 years, while my whole family continued to live in the middle of Delhi. So when this opportunity came up to have a space here in central Delhi, and now that the children are grown up, and, I knew I would be able to take the time out to come to a distance, as well as the main headquarters, I thought it would be like coming home. Very comforting, but at the same time, I said, I don’t want to do what we always do, because then there is no sense of surprise for myself, firstly, and also as a business, then it should be something that has a freshness and which can invite other people to be part of the story, right?
The idea arose a year ago. In July, we bid and in October, we got the place. It’s like once you are presented with a set of reality-based circumstances, now what do you do which is going to make it come into reality?
Raseel Gujral Ansal is the founder and creative director of Arzaani. She is also the force behind Casa Pop and Casa Paradox. Her design company is called RGA Design LLP.
This must have been a challenge for you...
It’s always a challenge. You know, when I was growing up, I read the autobiography of (Paul) Gauguin, and he said, I always approach the canvas with awe, but not fear. So whenever you start something new, it’s a leap into a different zone, which is outside of your comfort zone. So there is that little sense of trepidation because you have to end up mastering a new direction and yet be relevant to yourself and others.
Bikaner House is an interesting property. What about it spoke to you?
I’ve grown up in colonial homes... in central Delhi. All my life, I’ve put up shows for my father (artist Satish Gujral). I put up two or three shows here for him. So Bikaner House is an unusual property that while being sarkari, it has become a cultural hub. So that was what was attractive. Yet it is not so exclusive. And the fact that they have only one retail spot, apart from a few F&B spots, so to have that positioning was also very interesting.
How did you build it?
So, it was quite a challenging space, because it had about 11 doors that I’ve closed, and another four windows that I’ve closed. I worked with a grey scale so that I could neutralise the space, so that everybody who sits in that space can shine, and yet it can change. I don’t want to feel like I’m walking into a shop. I should feel like I walked into a personal space, almost like a voyeuristic feeling.
What do you think is the USP?
I think the USP is that I don’t think any other designer, be it fashion or home, who is willing to include other brands. This is designer-driven, but it includes other designers in it, in continuum of the democracy.
There are different stages in your life. At this stage in my life, I feel I want to be part of a larger community. I want that connection. While through my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, I was just running.
Arzaani was really born out of the joy of, okay, I am now free to do what I want to do without being restricted by an image that has been created around me. Break the image.
How did you pick and edit what you wanted?
I went to talk at a design show in Hyderabad, and I’ve been buying Anantaya online... and I said, you know, it’s like a simpatico feeling. I love your work, I buy your work and I’d like to work with you. I have known Kalyani (Saha Chawla of Rezon) since I was 10 years old. I’ve seen her through every phase of her life, and she’s seen me through every phase of mine.... It’s been very organic.... Anu Merton, I just found her online. I loved her stuff. So it was not about are they Instagramable? Do they have a great following? Are they relevant? They have to be relevant to me, because if I’m not true to myself, how do I speak one language?
So all the brands have been chosen in a personal manner and without an agenda. I only want to work with people who are easy to work with and where there’s a synergy.
We’ve got an area for Casa Pop, a lot of the furniture is executed by Casa Paradox. Some of the crockery, cushions, etc... are Arzaani. So everybody is homogeneously integrated into one area. Casa Paradox is glamorous. Casa Pop is fully colour, happy and accessible. Arzaani is like the feminine artistic expression, a very sort of divine mother artistic expression which pulls everybody under its umbrella, right? RGA Design LLP is the company that designs everything. That’s me.
Raseel Gujral Ansal's Nazar is "inspired by the ancient Silk Route". Wallpapers, cushions, fabrics, limited-edition objets d'art, porcelain giftware and bespoke handwoven dhurries are a part of the collection.
Tell us about the opening collection for Arzaani, Nazar...
Like I said, you know, (motifs like) the serpent started following me, the anaar (pomegranate) started following me, and I’ve always been fascinated by games of strategy, baazi, so shatranj (chess). It’s based on nazariya, which is my point of view, and then it’s based on nazar, which is also gaze, but at the same time it is also buri nazar se bacho. So all the symbols that save you from the buri nazar, there is Hamsa and the evil eye. They are resonating with us because, as an organic DNA, we are all carrying it somewhere, right?
So, the question of finding the pillars is the difficult part. Once the pillars are found, then it starts translating into every medium.
My father always said it, and I’ve understood it over the past decade, that you create the form, and then the form calls the material.
How do you keep a tab on the various verticals?
I have two studios. In one studio are my interior and architecture people and in the other studio are graphics and textile people. So, I oscillate between the two. Then I go home, and then I think and in the morning I work on what I thought. I draw. I always have to have about 50 pencils, minimum, sharpened!
What is your message for all the women who are probably still waiting to realise their dreams?
What are you waiting for? I’ll tell you the problem that a lot of women have is that they might be economically taken care of and if your economic comfort allows you to lull your dreams, then that’s why you’re waiting. I had my son at 19. I’ve been working my whole life. My oldest son said to me, and he was about 30... you’re not like other mothers, because we’re all different people. We are people first and then we are mothers or sisters or wives or the many roles that we play. So if I am me, I’ll be the kind of mother I can be, and if you take me away from me, I’ll be no one, and then I’ll be just an unhappy, depressed, resentful person who will wake up in her 40s or 50s and say, what did I do with my life? But that’s never even been a choice.
Economic satiety is a big killer of ambition. I think aggression is the wrong term. With Navin (Ansal, husband), we’ve been together for 32 years now, we are in it together. Our businesses are together. Everything is together