NIMISH SHAH'S NEW DELHI HOME

FOUNDER OF SHIFT AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF BHAANE, SHAH'S HOME SUGGESTS A VERY DISTILLED EYE ONE THAT SEES BEAUTY IN THE QUOTIDIAN AND BRINGS IT FORTH WITH A PRECISION AND FLAIR THAT IS UNIQUELY NIMISH.

- MEHER VARMA

We weren’t tight enough for a drinks invitation to morph into an overnight stay when Nimish Shah—creative director of Bhaane and Shift—first invited me to his house four years ago. But that is precisely what happened. I found comfort in his home, which is designed with a brand of care that has little to do with sentiment. He laughed off my apology the next morning when I joined him for an early walk. But while I remained dazed, Nimish took to the morning light like a good student takes to a school bell. The first ray of light to pierce his sparkling clean, minimal bedroom straightens his spine, wakes up his desk, and brings order—one his favourite words—into the world. I suspect he makes to-do lists in his sleep.

The match between residence and man is so hand in glove that Nimish thought the world was playing a joke on him when he was first shown this house. He had just moved to Delhi, and was kicked to find that even the address began with the first letter of his name. The same letter is carved into the trunk of an overgrown rubber tree in his garden, which shades the people who make themselves at home around the dinner table he designed. Guests who get to go a little further—in curiosity or romance— will find themselves in Nimish’s back garden, a lush, little oasis with a paved trail that leads you to nowhere but a pile of compost. If you’re upset about being led up the garden path, at least acknowledge the thoughtfulness the man puts into everything, even naughtiness.