The year was 1923. Pherozesha Sidhwa, Mumbai-based lawyer-turned-proprietor of Bharat Flooring Tile Company, surprised his staff by ordering a batch of black and white tiles to be dumped into the sea.
He felt the tiles—created by the company that Sidhwa had started the previous year with his nephew Rustom, for Readymoney Mansion, a building in Mumbai’s Fort area—were not ‘perfect’. The tiles were then recreated, declared satisfactory by Sidhwa and despatched to Readymoney Mansion, where they can still be seen.
Wherever you go in this country, chances are you will tread on Bharat’s tiles.
They are there at Bombay Central Station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Hotel Nahar in Ooty, Rugby Hotel in Matheran, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai, Sodabottleopenerwala in Cyberhub, Gurgaon, Social Nehru Place and Khan Market’s Ahujasons in Delhi, as well as in restored buildings such as Cathedral & John Connon School in Mumbai, Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Bharat’s Stilan tiles can also be seen at many of the Central Railway and Western Railway platforms as well as in Mumbai Metro stations.
When we heard that the ‘perfection-struck’ company was setting up shop in the capital, we rushed to take a peek. Tucked in an easy-to-find lane in a kitschy nook of Shahpur Jat, the small space on the second floor resembles a pop-up book of stories. Fixed on the walls with Velcro are tiles in every possible colour and pattern.
The company’s roots may be in Maharashtra, but the inspiration for the products comes from across India. The ‘Made in India’ series reflects this philosophy. There are tiles that draw inspiration from pashmina work from Kashmir, jharokhas from Rajasthan, gond artwork from Madhya Pradesh, kolam patterns from Kerala as well as bandhani print from Gujarat. Of course, there are tiles that make a nod to the modaks of Maharashtra.
The Delhi store has a wall decal tracing the history of the company spanning nine decades. There is also a shelf with neatly stacked glasses, filled with something that looks like multihued sand taken straight from the land of Avatar. “It is cement powder mixed with the coloured ingredients that we use to handcraft our tiles,” manager Rachit Mehrotra says in response to my curious gaze.
A lot has changed in the last nine decades at the company—from materials to techniques and patterns. What hasn’t changed is Bharat Tiles’ manufacturing unit at Uran, Navi Mumbai. It was this unit that turned Bombay’s status from importer to manufacturing hub for tiles. It was the founders’ way of showing their support to the Swadeshi Movement. In fact, each tile came stamped with an Indian map at the back.
Today, anyone who walks into the store in Mumbai or Delhi can take a close look at the displayed tiles, read through the catalogues and make a choice of the kind of tiles—for floor or wall—they want. You can make a selection from the designs already created by the in-house team of designers or have your tiles customised as per your tastes. But whatever be the choice, every tile will be manufactured at the Uran unit.
Apart from its trademark Heritage and designer ranges, the brand also makes premium mosaic floors, chequered non-slip floors for driveways, car parks, poolsides and terraces, interlocking blocks, and industrial heavy-duty floors. Truly, there is something for every Indian home, every building, every heart at Bharat.
86/B, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi; bharatfloorings.com