Giving Life to Imagination

When I was a little girl, I had a doll-house which was very similar to this one:

The Doll house

The house was perfect for little elves but my giant Miss World Barbie called it first. In a few weeks, I understood that the bed in the house was only suitable for her petite head. I then went on a rampage until I got a bed that fit her size. Like I would stand in front of the store (ironically called Cheap House in Lucknow!) and demand a bed for my doll. If my mother would disagree, I would tell her that I was willing to part with my Rakhi money for it. My sweet mother always obliged because apparently lying on the floor and throwing fits was worse! My Rakhi money was kept safe till I grew up, had a boyfriend and spent all my savings in recharging my calling card. Only if my mother knew better! Anyway, that bed looked exactly like this one:

So you see I had an eye for all things pretty for a nest from a very early age! If Steve Jobs had developed iPhone when he was younger, I could have shown you hundreds of selfies with my collection. But since our 36-film roll camera was reserved for special occasions like cutting the cake in the same position each year, horse back ride in Nainital and dressing up like village-women in Mussoorie, I don't have pictures of my toys that were bought by my mother at gunpoint. But these are almost the same.

Along with playing with these dolls, kitchen sets, stuffed animals, etc, I also grew up listening to myriad tales from my mother and granny. Because they hailed from Rajasthan, they had extensive knowledge about the Rajput queens as well as Lord Krishna, the Hare and the Tortoise and the 'new-age' Cinderella. Each night, my mother repeated these stories and I fell asleep feeling the same awe every time Cinderella found her prince charming. Really, mothers are the most patient creatures in the world.

These tales did have a lot of effect on me - I've learnt never to give up from the tortoise, I've learnt to be humble (ahem!) from Cinderella, I've learnt you can be good and naughty at the same time from the Krishna tales, and I've learnt about the strength of a woman from the folk tales of Rajasthan. (Also, the biggest lesson that I took from these ladies was how to glam-up and always look pretty but that's not something my granny was aiming at!)

Soon I outgrew those toys and tales, finished my studies and got married. But those memories, they will go with me to my grave. Isn't that true with each one of us; I mean the girls? I played Monopoly (a.k.a. Business), Battlefield, Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, several outdoor games... but it is these girly toys that remain my favorite. I could live in that doll house, I could be Jodha Bai, I could marry the Prince... actually in my head, I already did!

When I moved into my own house with my husband, it was like I was playing the Princess and he was the Prince Charming. Sure I did not have my own chariot nor did he have his own castle, but neither of us were complaining. The first thing that you need to make a house a castle is lots of love. And boy, we didn't have any dearth of it.

But then comes a tricky part - giving a personal style to the house. When I came into this place, it was already furnished. The look was quite minimalistic and western. Our culture is so colorful that giving a living space an ethnic look makes a lot of sense to me. I also believe in giving each room it's own identity - one can be chic, one can be eccentric, and one can be ethnic.

The stories from childhood were still playing in my mind like they've always had. The lessons were in my heart, but I still wished for those settings. Since fairies and elves were a 'tad' childish for our taste now, I thought bringing home these glamorous queens and stuff from their courtyard from MakeMyHome would help in bringing my own story together. This cushion cover, mirror and men with musical instruments could assist in bringing things to life that I had only imagined through those tales: 

Cushion Cover from MakeMyHome - Rs. 225

Apno Rajasthan Warli Painting on Large Mirror
From MakeMyHome - Rs. 1584

Karigaari Music Men Set
From MakeMyHome - Rs. 2380

And if someone asks me the story behind decorating my living room with these, the tale will go thus:

There lived a Queen who had found her Prince Charming

She called her land maaro Rajasthan

Everyday she spent hours dressing

To look pretty for her Nawab!

The courtyard would dazzle when she'd walk through it

The artists played tunes in her honour

One smile and the Raja's eyes would lit

And she would just blush from one corner!

Oh yes, bedtime tales from childhood can do that to you. You assume yourself to be a princess, and why not! And with these around me, my home will feel like a mahal. I can also change the sofa covers, bring in some ethnic table cloth, add class with some Rajasthani sculptures and give a whole new look to my simple looking living room.

This makeover was not only inspired by tales from my childhood but also an apartment we rented out recently in Vienna. It's theme was Emperor Sissi of the Habsberg Dynasty from Austria. The whole apartment was tastefully done with the portraits of the empress and things from her era. I was taken back several centuries and felt like a princess myself. And then I thought how our Rajputana princesses were no less. How elegant it would be to decorate the whole living room with a theme in mind. The room below looks like one from the stories I have heard and read. Wouldn't it be great to have a room that looked like this one:

Living room for inspiration

Yes, if I had to re-do my living room, I would go back to my love for picking the prettiest things for my house and then give life to those tales from my wonderful childhood memories.


I was taken back to my childhood when I came across this contest on Blogadda sponsored by MakeMyHome. Bloggers have to pick 3 items from the special link and tell why and how they will re-do their house with those items. I just loved the experience of digging memories and sharing them here. 

Images from here: The Dollhouse, Barbie Bed, Living room for inspiration, Decorative items from MakeMyHome

This post is a part of Makemyhome activity at BlogAdda.com