‘My Upbringing Helped Root Me’

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: Dressed in a light blue, printed salwar kameez, Sita Nanda greets us warmly at her Villa D’Este store in South Extension, New Delhi. Ms Nanda hails from the industrialist family of the Nandas. But that has not stopped her from creating a niche for herself in the world of furniture and design.

Right from designing President Clinton’s room for his India visit to designing for corporate bigwigs, she’s done it all. Ms Nanda is a very happy woman these days. She recently held an exhibition of furniture and artefacts at the InterContinental in New Delhi. Her partners in this exhibition were Asha Sehgal and Madhu Sawhney. Christened 27 Sala Thai, meaning a garden house in Thai, the exhibition showcased various oriental decor options, garden home furniture, artefacts, Burmese temples and Buddha figurines. The furniture was sourced from Thailand and other neighbouring countries in South-East Asia.

The exhibition was a big success as evidenced by the crowd, which mainly comprised the creme de la creme of Delhi’s society. “We got a lot of orders at the exhibition. In fact, we are planning to hold another exhibition in October-November this year,” says Ms Nanda enthusiastically.

Ms Nanda is the proprietor of two interior design companies, First Interiors and Design Workshop. She also manufactures a range of furniture for households. And even as we are talking, a client drops by and requests her for a coffee table because she “could not find a good one in the furniture shops”.

As far as furniture goes, Ms Nanda concentrates on contemporary as well as classic lines. Her first exhibition of furniture was held at the Oberoi hotel in New Delhi, way back in 1982. Since then, there has been no looking back.

How does she face the competition from imported furniture? “What is doing well in imported furniture is office furniture. With home, the idea or approach is different,” replies Ms Nanda. “A lot of imported furniture is made out of particle board and constant shifting means it wears out quickly.” Ms Nanda also exports her range of furniture.