'Creativity cannot be taught to anyone'

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Creativity cannot be taught to anyone. It’s a quality which is god-gifted. People can help you polish this quality but no one can imbibe it into someone,” says Monica Malhotra, who has designed the new prive collection at Radisson Blu, Noida that comprises 33 elaborately designed rooms,with rococo-style interiors, with an Indian touch.

She adds, “Sometimes I feel that it’s better that I hold no technical degree in designing. I feel that when you have too much technical knowledge in a creative field, you tend to limit yourself within a boundary. You become like a factory. Whatever people are doing, you keep on doing that. You stop thinking out of the box. That limits you somewhere and then you stop experimenting.  I think that experimentation is important. I find that people who have done a lot of studies they are good at replicating something comfortably. I believe in doing something which is never been done.”

Malhotra has designed the rooms in Venetian and French traditions. With bespoke furniture pieces finished with gold carvings that date back to the 1800s, all the decorative lights, including goosenecks, table, lamps, and chandeliers are hand-picked by her. The detailed craftsmanship in ceilings and walls with interesting design elements, the heavy lush embroidery and authentic ‘dabka’ work on draperies and cushions, Malhotra, Managing Director, MBD Group has given a personal touch to each element.

 “I started drawing at the age of 17. It was when my father gave me a project I started learning how to do drawings. What are the parameters of  furniture pieces, what kind of dimensions it should have, what should be the moving space, what should be their height, I started knowing more about all these. I got so much involved into it that, ultimately I started designing my own house and office. I realised I had a flair in it and started understanding things that was of my interest,” says Malhotra, who used to sing in her earlier days.

Talking about the idea behind introducing privé collection, Sonica Malhotra, joint managing director, MBD Group, said, “We have been in the hospitality industry for several years now and were essentially the first 5-star deluxe hotel in Noida. But now the market is maturing fast. And in the next two to five years, travellers are going to crave for absolute luxurious hotel So, the idea behind it is to introduce our esteemed customers to an entirely new level of extravagance, and that’s how we decided to redefine the experience of hotel stays and make it more about luxury with an enhanced level of service and convenience.”