Perfect Peace, set in the Inner Circle in Whitefield, is not just an enchanting home but a lifestyle.
Quaint and fairy-tale like, it reminds one of a time when life was easy, wants were few and each day was meant to be richly savoured, counting one’s blessings in the company of friends.
The oldest records date back to 1914, when the house was first bought by a lady named Patience Rector. It then passed into the hands of a Miss Forbes who later sold it to L J Rourke in 1956. Today, Merlin D’Souza and her son Paul live there and are responsible for the charming ambience of the place. The garden is a dream. Not filled with exotic plants or landscaped by professionals but tended to with love and care that reflects in every nook and corner, pot and plant. It reflects in the hand-made birdbath and the water lily ponds filled with wriggly little fish, in the wishing well straight out of a nursery rhyme, the hammock strung in the shade and the fountain of flowering orchids.
It reflects in the squirrel that scampers around and nibbles from your hand, the birds that nest in the trees and friends that drop by for a cup of tea, a chat and leave with a bottle of Merlin’s home-made jam (made from the many fruits that grow in the 12,000 sqft garden).
The house itself is like a Hansel and Gretel cottage and is beautifully preserved with every effort made to retain its old world charm. The high-tiled ceilings with intricately detailed ventilators and tiled floors are intact. Frilled lace curtains complement the antique sofa sets as do the clocks that date back 150 years and are kept in perfect working condition by Paul.
The little porch leads into a sitting room which is filled with period furniture, each piece holding a special memory and acquired with much care over the years. An old organ carefully restored stands against a wall alongside softly-faded paintings of birds that provide inspiration for the flamingoes and doves that Paul artistically reproduces for the garden.
The dining room is a cozy spot in the centre of the house and holds old wooden china cabinets filled with porcelain bric a brac that Merlin collected from her childhood. Bedrooms lead off from the centre and are also furnished in keeping with the rest of the home with brass beds, rocking chairs, ancient bookshelves and writing desks, softly glowing lamps and gauzy curtains.
The kitchen has not been redone and used to serve as the pantry in the past, a place where dishes and trays of food would be dressed before being carried to the dining table. The old outdoor kitchen is still there though not functional anymore. “The only changes made to the house come in the form of bathroom plumbing,” smiles Merlin.
Perfect Peace was named by a family friend and suits the place perfectly. It holds its own in a part of Bangalore that is slowly being replaced by concrete.
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