Their new home is still a work in progress for percussionist Bickram Ghosh and actress and dancer Jaya Seal Ghosh. The sprawling 3,000sqft apartment in south Calcutta’s smart Southern Avenue is a stylish mix of contemporary designs and old world charm. And it also has its own share of history — the four-storey building was built in the 1950s by eminent astrophysicist Meghnad Saha — though he actually lived next door.

Bickram and Jaya moved in last year with their two sons, Adit, 9, and 18-month-old Arav. “The best part about living here is that now my studio, art academy and home are all in one area. Also as a child I grew up in this locality and that makes moving into this neighbourhood very special,” beams Bickram, as he talks about the apartment.

For the Ghoshs, moving into this Southern Avenue apartment happened almost by chance. They had already moved into a new home when a friend who was living in the apartment invited them for dinner. During the course of the evening Bickram decided to buy it.

But there was lots of work involved before the Ghoshs moved in seven months later because the apartment had to be completely renovated. The remodelled apartment is Vaastu compliant but many elements of the old house have been retained. The sitting room is flooded with sunlight and it opens into an extended corridor which is flanked by the guestroom, kitchen, the children’s room and Bickram’s little den on one side and the couple’s bedroom on the other. The house has been done up in muted pastel shades and it now has wooden flooring.

“The sitting room had to be completely restructured as we wanted a nice sit-out-cum-balcony. Originally the room didn’t have a balcony but just a door and a couple of windows. We decided to break it down and make a balcony,” says Bickram.

On one side of the corridor there are many pictures of the family. “I call it the ego wall and there are a host
of pictures here. For instance, you can see our honeymoon pictures, pictures of my father and I and
some of my favourites like my grandmother,”says Bickram.

Bickram’s den is a small space which was actually a kitchen and a store room. The wall dividing the kitchen and the store room was broken down and the room now has Bickram’s music collection, movie posters of Alfred Hitchcock and Rocky Balboa and his sound system.

The corridor also leads to the children’s room which gets a lot of light and air and which has been done up with furniture from their old home. Says Jaya: “This room had very pretty old windows so we decided to keep them. The next step will be to get a bunk bed as the kids are growing up and need more space.”

The open kitchen-cum-dining room is a sprawling space that was once a terrace with a small fountain. The couple have now put in big windows that go up to the ceiling in this space. “We were appalled to see this space but what really caught our attention was the spaciousness it added to the house,” adds Jaya.

The couple’s master bedroom is spacious and simply decorated. Adding charm to the room is the balcony. They’ve kept the original latticed grills.

In his old home, Bickram had a studio where he would practise his music but now he goes to his nearby studio. Still there’s a collection of tablas in one corner of the corridor. Says Bickram: “This home is made with a lot of love and I like the fact that my children are growing up in the same area as I once did.”

Photographs by Subhendu Chaki