Off The Grid

Their work has them dividing their time between Tokyo and Mumbai, but for artist Vishwa Shroff and architect Katsushi Goto, this light-filled apartment in southMumbai is—and will always be—home

- Rajashree Balaram

The naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling of the master bedroom in artist Vishwa Shroff’s house is at odds with the rest of the decor. But Shroff, who is fastidious about the tiniest details, down to the placement of every ashtray in her house—and there are many—is in no hurry to replace it with designer lamps just yet. “We have not found the kind of lighting we are looking for, and Goto and I have decided to let it be for now. We will recognize the one meant for us when we finally run into it someday!” Goto (first name, Katsushi) is Shroff’s architect husband. He has designed their home, which also functions as a centre for the Square Works Laboratory (SqW:Lab), a three-month fellowship programme space for cultural practitioners from around the world. The 3,000-square-foot apartment is a vintage beauty in an art deco building located in Mumbai’s heritage quarters. The ceilings are high; the floor tiles are mint green (exactly as they were when the place was newly built); and the L-shaped corridor running through the middle of the apartment has a drama that’s hard to find in contemporary spaces.

However, the first thing that greets you when you visit the two-bedroom, one library, one family room, multiple-balconied home is the Zen calm of it; there is room enough for echoes and sunlight to play hide-and-seek through the day. Every little figurine and piece of furniture in the space— whether sourced from the streets of Chor Bazaar or the shops of London—seems like it has arrived there after prolonged discussions. Aside from the deliberations over aesthetics, romantic idealism and longing set the presiding theme here: “Goto and I have been together for 10 years now, and we know we’ll always be with each other,” says Shroff. “This is where we’ll spend the rest of our lives. So we have all the time to do things our way.”