The spacious balcony is Patel’s favourite hangout; (top) the living room comes alive with bright cushions, lamps and exquisite artwork

Manipuri dancer Priti Patel’s home is a rhapsody in white and rich mahogany. Dressed in a bright red phanek and inasi (similar to the mekhla-chaddar ) from Manipur teamed with a black tee she plays the gracious hostess as she ushers us into her apartment. Located in the upscale Ballygunge, the second-floor flat opens into a huge living area split into a comfortable sitting space and a dining room.

The living room is where Patel and her businessman husband, Arvind Mehrotra, spend the mornings discussing their schedules — a habit dating back to the time they got married. They moved into this apartment in 1989. “We love silence and peace and wanted our home to be a haven — hence the touch of white all over. We also try to avoid working from home,” says Patel.

Her husband, who travels often on work, loves the Zen-like ambience of the house. “I often change the arrangement of the furniture and the upholstery for a fresh look,” she says.

The large, six-seater sofa — placed at the far right of the room — is upholstered in white while crimson and orange cushions break the starkness. One of the walls displays tapestry that Patel picked up from Anokhi in Jaipur along with two Tanjore paintings that are her favourite.

(From top) The coffee table in the corner is where Patel likes to arrange her favourite orchids; this artefact from Rajasthan is a pictorial representation of the story of Dasavatar; Sonja Weber’s installation can be split into nine pieces and rearranged

A glass-topped mahogany centre-table in the sitting area was inherited from her father-in-law. On the small coffee table in another corner stands a vase filled with orchids, Patel’s favourite flowers, along with a photograph of her playing Krishna in her younger days.

The couple also settles down in this room in the evening, sipping wine and listening to Sufi music. This space converts into an adda zone when friends drop in. “We’ve entertained friends like Sonal Mansingh, Birju Maharaj and Mallika Sarabhai here. Even if we move, this apartment will have plenty of wonderful memories,” she says.

The one thing that strikes you about Patel’s 1,500 sqft home is the unusual art and artefacts that fill it. A metal statue of goddess Parvati which Patel’s in-laws gifted them sits in a corner of the living room with an antique brass puja vessel in front of it. A papier mache artefact that tells the story of Dasavatar, from Udaipur, sits on the wooden chest of drawers in the dining area. A bright red installation by Sonja Weber, from Ambica Beri’s art gallery, adds to the ambience.

A framed portrait of Sreenathji hangs on one of the walls of the living room, a gift from Patel’s grandfather. Placed below are two brass chairs from Gujarat which Patel is sentimental about as she and her husband were seated on them during their marriage ceremony. A low brass table, in the centre, is where Patel loves placing coloured candles. The living room opens into a spacious balcony dominated by a wooden liquor cabinet and a huge tulsi shrub.

Adjacent to the living area is the master bedroom with a king-size bed, a dresser and two wardrobes — all crafted by the furniture-makers, B.H. Smith. When Patel returns home from Anjika, her dance school, she retires to her bedroom, which is simple and uncluttered. A huge, flat-screened TV faces the bed but Patel says that they don’t watch television much. “We do catch a late-night movie on Sundays but apart from that it’s the news,” she says.

A brass thali from Kalighat in which Patel arranges candles and flowers

While the second bedroom, also painted white, is meant for house guests, it doubles as a puja room as well. “I am a believer in Goddess Kali and meditate here every day,” she says.

As you exit the house you can’t miss the Ganesha statue placed right next to the elevator. “I believe that he brings me luck,” says the dancer, who is just back from a performance tour of a few European countries with her troupe.

Photographs by Rashbehari Das