SAY A PRAYER

Puja rooms trend the year round but during Diwali, they become the highlight of any home, industry insiders share their favourite temples from projects across the country

- By RIDHI KALE

Gone are clinical, drab and sometimes messy nooks for worship in a home.

In the contemporary context, these spaces are now a visual symphony of rich colours, materials and textures. Think rhythm in repose, beauty in simplicity and delightful drama in design. These rooms and sometimes nooks (depending on the square footage of a home) are important the year round, but come festive season, they zoom into focus. However, if you are looking for inspiration, here are some of the most interesting puja rooms from across the country.

Curves in the Right Places

VEERAM SHAH

Principal Architect and Founder

Design ni Dukaan

www.designnidukaan.com

Converting a 4BHK into a 3BHK home in Mumbai gave rise to an unexpected byproduct, a small niche of 30 sq ft for a mandir, just what the family needed. “They are Shreenathji followers and have a detailed puja routine, where idols are dressed and their asanas changed daily. This 30 sq ft gave us enough space to fit in their requirements,” says Shah. The temple is a part of the living room in the passage leading to the dining. “The client wanted the mandir to open to the living room for when they have larger pujas or gatherings,” he adds. That's not where the drama ends, Shah has shaped it as an ellipsoid volume, almost like an inserted form within the living room. “This helped it become a part of the architecture.” The doors of the mandir are sliding doors meticulously made with wooden sections and hinges to fold and slide on a channel like the old radio shutters. “The idea of a platform with multiple levels comes from client's brief to arrange their idols specific to their belief system and to cater to that we got an intervention from Carlo Scarpa's works, where we created levels dedicated to different idols and spaces dedicated to put flowers, diyas and incense sticks,” shares Shah.