Ideas for picking the best souvenirs on your holiday: Part 2

Samir Wadekar

Interior stylist and decorator

A few years ago, just as the lockdown eased up, while visiting Kochi for a sourcing trip with my clients, I was rummaging through dozens of dusty warehouses and hunting for bargains in Jew Town. While adding a plethora of sculptural objects to my fantasy bucket list, I narrowed down my ever-growing list of pieces that I fell in love with (at first sight), and zeroed in on this Theyyam headpiece in one of the grand warehouses of heritage arts. I was immediately attracted to its imposing and divine presence. Creating Theyyam headgear requires exceptional artistic skill, seen in its intricate flora and fauna patterns, and a meticulous attention to detail. I was absolutely thrilled when it arrived home a couple of weeks later.

Shivani Dogra

Interior designer

This knup—a traditional tribal rain shield made from bamboo in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya—was bought at the local weekly market which takes place on Saturday. My team and I were working there on a project, and this would end up being our one outing for the week, where we discovered and took in the place’s sights, sounds and culture, making friends along the way. I love this piece as it is a visual memory of my time there—one would often see the locals wearing larger ones to cover their heads and backs when working in the fields. Today, the knup finds its home in my studio in Goa, which brings together all the things I’ve collected over the years—each piece echoing tales from a trip. I always enjoy visiting the older parts of a town or its local markets, compared to popular places. One tends to find more unique, fascinating pieces there. That’s how I also found this planter in a vintage store in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, while visiting a friend. At the time, I had no idea what I would do with it; but when I opened it here in the studio, it immediately found its home!

Niyati Rao and Sagar Neve

Co-founders, EKAA and KMC*

This metal mortar and pestle from Nagaland is used by the locals to make their traditional chutneys. A lot of vegetables are mashed up in it, hence its flatter shape. It’s super light, and there is a special hand movement and technique one has to use to work with it. The wooden one next to it is also from Nagaland for making an assortment of dry spice mixes. The wood absorbs the flavour of the spice, with its fragrance lingering within forever! For me, it’s symbolic of the layers of food memories preserved in one object, and today, these sit on my kitchen counter as I cook a lot of stews and hearty meals after a hard day at work.

I was inspired to buy one for myself when I went to the village Khonoma and an aunty named Apeno, who runs a homestay, made me an Axone potato chilli chutney in this. When I saw her making it, with an almost-meditative repetitive method, I tried it myself and thought this is something I would like to keep with me forever.