Meet Bangalore’s own Lady with the Lamp, Anita Rao, quite literally though! With a strong desire to do up her home, Anita loved picking up curios. Her friends fondly referred to her home as the `Salarjung Museum’. Soon Anita’s passion steered towards lamps. Dissatisfied with the kind of lamps available in India, Anita travelled worldwide, picking them up during holidays. Who knew that this passion would some day turn into a business plan for this simple housewife. With an aim to introduce others to what wonders these illuminating ornaments can do to their spaces, today Anita sells portable lamps, hand-picked and sourced from China.
Talking about her journey, Anita narrates, “Nobody makes lamps in India. Each piece is imported. Once upon a time, Punjab and Ludhiana used to make them but fell apart due to competitive pricing. Six months ago, I was travelling in China when my eyes fell upon these rural artists creating these exquisite lamps. While I bought some, I decided to bring these beauties to India. I have never done business. But my passion for lamps convinced me to plunge into it.”
And Anita for sure has a keen eye, as each lamp on sale is a piece of art. In classic vintage or Oriental styles, each lamp is etched with detail. From a majestic horse to those with hand-painted flowers and fruits, glass stands to glass shades - there is something to suit everyone’s tastebuds. In dull gold, silver, bronze, red, black or ivory - colours are aplenty.
A piece that caught the eye was a lamp stand in the shape of an Arabic surahi (wine jar) made with chipped glass. The faint red and green colours provide much novelty, making for a great visual treat. Some stands have matching accessories like ornate tissue boxes, fruit bowls and vases. All the lamp stands are handpainted and come in powdered stone metal or in wood.
“It’s an art unique to rural China. These lamps are light-weight, don’t stain tables and the colours don’t fade,” explains Anita. Ask her why she doesn’t have any contemporary designs and she quips, “Market is flooded with geometric designs. I think the classic styles are far more dramatic.”
Anita says that a lamp is a must-have in every home. “Today most people live in small houses with straight-lined furniture. Thus, there is no depth in the room. A single decorative lamp brings a lot of colour. Keep matching accesories,” she suggests.
Anita has over 350 pieces to choose from. Those interested can contact her son, Rohan Rao, at 9845048490.
