She is known for her generous use of bling in her line of bridal lehengas but Calcutta-based designer Saroj Jalan’s six-bedroom home is about subtlety and muted tones. Situated in an attractive corner of Bangur Avenue, her home-cum-studio sprawls over four floors and 14,000sqft.

The entire ground floor has been converted into a stylish reception area with an elevator that takes you zipping up directly to the second floor. There’s a door from the reception leading to a staircase that takes you to the first floor but it’s kept locked most of the time.

Built in 1996 by Saroj’s father-in-law, late Sanwarlal Jalan, three generations of the family reside here. There’s Saroj’s husband, Alok Kumar Jalan, her 75-year-old mother-in-law, her two sons, Shasank and Harsh, her nephew, Anuj, and Shasank’s wife Yamini. The family occupies the first and second floors while the third and the fourth floors have been turned into Saroj’s showroom and workshop, respectively.

As one steps out of the elevator on the second floor, one is led to a huge drawing room that is done in delicate colours. The space, Saroj’s eldest son, Shasank says, is the family’s chill zone. “No matter how busy we are throughout the day, we end the day here,” he says. 

Comfortable sofas in gold, beige and metallic brown give a warm look to the drawing room. The television set here is used by the family for karaoke evenings. “This is one thing that all of us look forward to,” says Shasank, a chartered accountant.
This floor also has a small temple where Saroj and Alok begin the day. Three rooms on this floor are occupied by her younger son, Harsh, Anuj, and her mother-in-law. Next to the drawing room is the spacious dining room with a six-seater dining table.

Since the interiors have been carefully chosen and planned by Saroj herself, one can find traces of her favourite colour, gold, in most parts of the house. “The wallpaper that we have used in the dining area has the same motifs as the blinds in this area of the house. I wanted to make sure that the decor doesn’t look random,” says Saroj.

The dining room also has porcelain figurines that the Jalans picked up during their trips to Europe, especially Italy, between 2003 and 2008. The walls are decorated with a couple of papyrus paintings that Saroj bought in Egypt.

The kitchen and Saroj’s room are adjacent to the dining area but a unique feature here is the wooden staircase encased in a wood-and-glass enclosure. It takes you down to the first floor which is mainly the family’s entertainment area.

There’s a cosy sitting arrangement done up in fawn-and-white. A huge projector screen drops from the ceiling in front of the seating, hinting at the lavish movie sessions that the family enjoys here. “Besides films, we also catch cricket and football matches on this big screen,” says Shasank.

The colour scheme here is dominated by black-and-white. Behind the screen is Yamini and Shasank’s bedroom. It is decorated in white and beige while a dark maroon bed adds a dramatic contrast.

Apart from the bed, the room has a floral-print, two-seater sofa. The construction and designing of the room took over five months and it was ready just in time before Shasank’s wedding that was held in February this year.

Next to the couple’s room is a guestroom in red and black. “It has been done in warmer shades because we wanted it to be a little different from the rest of the house,” says Saroj. Right next to the guest room is Shasank’s favourite space, a small library that’s filled with books by authors like Sidney Sheldon, George R. R. Martin, Ayn Rand and more.

While the first and the second floor are so quiet that you can hear a pin drop, the third and the fourth floors are buzzing with activity. The third floor, which is Saroj’s showroom, has clients trying out her creations. The reception-cum-waiting area on this floor has sofas in metallic hues. An antique Buddha statue bought in Nepal sits in one corner of the room. A rusty white centre-table occupies the pride of place in this space. “I like to hold all my meetings here,” says Saroj.

The fourth floor is the busiest area of the building filled with the sounds of sewing machines. This part is used as the workshop with several craftsmen busy putting her designs together.

The house, Saroj says, means the world to her and her family. It is here that she gives wings to her imagination.
 

Photographs by Rashbehari Das