For those of us who go home to shelves sagging with the weight of books, who have books strewn about all over the place and occasionally find books popping up at the oddest of places at hours least expected, the thought of setting up our own, personal home libraries is not one that has crossed our minds infrequently. Most households in Calcutta are saddled with too many books as it is; add to that the sheer agony of running out of space to keep all your books, the constant chaos of not being able to find a book when you need it most, the persistent urge at the back of your mind whenever you step into a bookstore to buy yet more books, never mind the pile of unread books lying in a heap next to your bed… we also inherit books from the people who came before us, so most of the time our households look like a bibliophile’s paradise and a complete mess to boot. The idea of the home library, therefore, appeals to many, but most of us would be hard-pressed to be able to set one up in the tiny confines of our urban homes in the first place.
Not so much for Rashi Ray, designer and director of Response India, whose home library, a product of the many books left to her by her grandparents and parents, as well as the books she has accumulated over the years, is truly a sight for sore eyes. Step in and you’re met with the sight of stacks of books arranged neatly as per colour on shelves that span floor to ceiling, with golden sunlight pouring in through the windows and house plants lending a gentle, soothing charm to the room, which is in itself artfully decorated with book-related paraphernalia, paintings on the walls, and a most intriguing fountain pen-shaped pen tray that commands attention the minute you walk in and let your eyes linger on the centre table. Add to that the warm, homely vibe of the place itself, characterised by warm tones and a simple yet spacious design, thoughtfully curated to create moments of comfort as you surround yourself with literature.
The books themselves are of every genre imaginable, spanning traditional literature to guidebooks for advertising and marketing, self-help books, humour, poetry, history, biography, art and design, business, psychology, travel, and even delightfully (and hilariously) illustrated children’s and young adult titles. “Mine is a family of readers,” says Rashi when we sit down over mishti and cha, and thus unfolds a delightful conversation on books, the pleasures of growing up surrounded by them, and the ways they shape who we become and how we organise our lives.
Snapshots of our library tour and excerpts from our conversation…
The first thing that hits you when you walk into the library/living room is the sheer amount of natural light that floods the place. Bookshelves line the walls from floor to ceiling, packed with a mix of hardcovers and paperbacks; the books are arranged according to colour, which adds a delightful touch of whimsy to the library’s quintessential charm. A wood-panelled feature wall, decorated with a contemporary portrait, anchors the centre.
A round wooden dining table occupies the foreground, surrounded by carved chairs. A vase of flowers keeps the room bright and sparkling, as do the houseplants dotting the windowsills and floor. The overall vibe is cosy, lived-in, and studious, with a refined yet creative atmosphere.
The other side of the room comes into view in this picture. From here, the dining table in the foreground is more obvious, and behind it, tall wooden bookshelves wrap around the walls, filled with books, magazines, and a stacked stereo system.
The colour of the books shifts in blocks, with darker spines on the left and more colourful, rainbow-like sections towards the right. The door in between the two shelves leads to another room filled with books and plants!
Rashi’s father was advertising professional Ram Ray, who created quite an empire in his career that spanned half a century. Growing up surrounded by her father’s creativity and curiosity, Rashi developed an appreciation for books and the worlds they open from an early age.
“This library holds all our books — my father’s, my mother’s, mine, and even my grandfather’s,” she tells us. “Some of them are very old, proper family books, kept in beautiful condition, because my grandfather read constantly and preserved everything with great care. He also bought books simply because he liked having them, even if he didn’t read them cover to cover; he believed you only need to read as much as you enjoy, and know exactly where to go when you need your next read. As a family, we’ve inherited that habit — we buy a lot of books, which means we inevitably run out of space. So while you’re seeing the library, the rest of our house looks like this too; even our drawing room is lined with shelves.
We’ve organised this particular section as a reference area for our work, so one side has all the advertising and design books, colour-coded to make them easy to find, while another holds our language and literature titles. We’re all very different readers: I read to learn something specific — a punctuation rule, an art direction technique, the right way to use a picture, colour, or fashion — which is why we have many unusual, highly specialised books, especially for advertising.
My father was the opposite; he read everything without purpose, mostly literature and history, plus odd, delightful books on food, shoemaking, bag-making, typing, and an entire array of eccentric dictionaries — dictionaries of insults, ghosts, modern words, Scrabble dictionaries filled with bizarre two-letter words.
More than an archive, for me, this is a space to live. I take meetings here, and some of my clients insist on meeting only in the library because they love the atmosphere. I also gift books a lot because I seem to have a knack for finding out exactly what someone will enjoy. I still buy books all the time; half our collection is rare, and many are recent additions we hope to read someday. Most aren’t storybooks, so I don’t read them linearly — sometimes just a chapter is enough.
Unlike most libraries, our system is entirely by memory and colour. I remember book covers, I know what’s where, and I know exactly which books I’ve referred to. And because our work needs a lot of reference material — say, if we have to use satire for a script — this space always gives us something specific to return to.”
Pictures: B Halder
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