APPEARANCES can be deceptive. Shivalaya looks like any run-of-the-mill house. However, cloistered safely in Ganesh Avenue in Porur, Shivalaya is a treasure trove. Jaishree Shanker, the chatelaine of the house, proudly reveals how Shivalaya has given shelter to antiques that were left lonely and untended to in her ancestral home in Kerala. From the brass lamp or vilakku, which stand symbolic of her father, to the polished Koruga or ladle used to serve rice in the olden days, each little piece has a story to tell.
Shivalaya takes you into another era. The period where our ancestors were served in brass plates, when they drank water from beautifully adorned pitchers. Jaishree’s house has been done up completely in ethnic style. “I actually never had to buy anything while I was doing up the place,” says Jaishree who lives with her husband, K Shanker, the MD of Technip. “Most of the stuff here are antiques which I then gave a face-lift by polishing,” she adds. One look around the place is enough to gauge the time that Jaishree has spent in maintaining each piece. Adding to the antiques are two lovely, and uncommon Tanjore paintings, that occupy centre stage, one of Tirupati Balaji that welcomes you as soon as you enter, and another of lord Shiva, reclining.
The dining room opens into a beautiful hanging garden- Jaishree’s favourite spot in the house. In addition to the antiques, her love for shells is seen in her prized collection, carefully preserved in a glass cabinet. Quiz her on how long she actually took to do up the house, which she moved into eleven years ago, and she says candidly, “It’s never eleven years ago, it’s still a process.” After all, that’s what makes a house a home.