Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi on the house where he wrote his bestselling novel, The Last Song of Dusk. In an exclusive to GoodHomes, he narrates three pieces on the subject of our cover story: his family house.
In 2002, I returned from California to Bombay. A love affair had bombed. I was to start on a master’s degree in San Francisco the following year — a scholarship had been secured. Interim, I had a year to kill. My father, the practical Gujurati, insisted I get a job – perhaps as a reporter. My mother said, ‘You don’t need to leave the house. Why don’t you start a pizza parlour in the garage?’
Around that time Hrithik Roshan, who grew up in the same neighbourhood, went from totally awkward badminton playing teenager I’d seen at Juhu Gymkhana, and transformed into a world-class, nipple-flashing film star. One of my school contemporaries, whose kindergarten achievement had been target urinating in Limca bottles, distinguished himself not only by marrying but also begetting a child the same year.
Folks in my neighbourhood were flashing the absence of chest hairs, and the presence of heirs.
Meanwhile, I was nursing a broken heart and quarrelling with my mother – no, I did not want her mami’s recipe for pizza sauce; and yes, this made me a bloody ingratiate. I retreated to my room in the house, the photographs of which grace this magazine. I sat before a manuscript I’d finished two years prior. My novel was a love story of sorts, a marriage under threat, a young woman whipping into her sexual and artistic own, the shadow of music on their lives — these were key strands. I wrote all day, then deep into night; I edited like the demon was in me; I revised everything. I had charts. There were diary entries I revisited. In four months, I brought into being the story that later brought me into writerly existence: The Last Song of Dusk was completed in this house. From the fate of the house, from its invisible veins and ventricles, its secret cloacal, a book came to be.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2018 من GoodHomes.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2018 من GoodHomes.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Nature is calling
Anuja Marudgan transcends the mundane with the design of this residence in Pune
Around the curves
Infusing timeless allure with contemporary opulence, Deepak Gugarii of Studio VDGA transforms a four-bedroom home into a soothing haven
Whispers of Quietude
This home in Thane by Sparc Design is rooted in restraint and simplicity featuring interplay of natural materials, earthy hues and playful forms
A REAL PAGE-TURNER
With a focus on the family's voracious love for reading, Concepto Studio designs this villa in Bengaluru with cosy and stylish nooks that any bookworm would love to curl up in
From vision to reality...
For the design of this home in Sarjapura, Bengaluru, Studio Mass Architecture creates a bright, airy space that echoes with muted luxury
THE ESSENCE OF LUXURY
Varun Goyal champions a minimalist design language to ensure the sea view is the main highlight of this home in Colaba, Mumba
Heritage Haven
Studio Ipsa designs this home with a melange of patterns, textures and bright tones, stitched with locally-sourced materials
100 DAYS OF SUMMER
Swap those winter blues for sunny hues and join us as we dive into the coolest tips and tricks to transform your home into a chilled summer sanctuary
Echoes of Tradition
Manish Kumat revives indigenous craftsmanship and artisanal techniques through the design of this home
Inspired by the unexpected
An eclectic fusion of colour, texture and material forms the unusual foundation for this stylish Mumbai home