Oshiwara’s old furniture market is a history buff’s delight
“Boss, see but don’t take photos,” says a voice from behind, shaking me out of a reverie. For a few seconds, a cupboard (the one we were not allowed to take photographs of) had transported us to another world. In that world, these arched doors with Belgian glass, stored mysteries of a grandmother’s affection. Anything could emerge from it; from cookies to new clothes. This cupboard was one of the many items that populate the shops of the Oshiwara market on SV Road, which is a repository of our lived histories; some new and some designed on demand for nostalgia.
The shop is choc-a-block with lamps and clocks
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All around us were furniture with traces of time on them but often unidentified. There were art deco tables — repaired and polished, wall hangings that the owners claimed were from the World War II era, the painting of a Chinese man from the pages of history or imagination. At the first shop, the owner, who did not want to be named, said that their aversion to people taking photos was the fear of the designs being copied.
Owners claim this chair to be from the early 1900s
This was strange considering a lot of business at the market is of new furniture designed in old styles. Samiulla Khan, who is a member of the family that owns Taj Furniture, did not have any such issues. Sitting on a stool in front of his store, he releases a projectile of paan spit, hitting the drain on the side of the pavement with stunning accuracy, and says, “They are scared needlessly. But then, business has been slow. People don’t want such heavy furniture these days.”
A lantern with the term, New York etched on it
The business, which is now shared by 10 brothers, was started in 1966. Over the last few years, the demand for their furniture has reduced but people do come over to sell their unused stuff and buyers come from all over the country. “These days, people live in smaller houses and prefer lighter furniture. It is also cheaper. We still do have buyers but the numbers are going down,” he says. During our chat with Khan, we learn that until 1966, the family business was located in Bandra.
Shoaib Khan’s family runs Hass Antique
Even the older ware at the market is not technically antique as it is not over a hundred years old but some are, claims Shohaib Khan of Hass Antiques. He points at a heavy black chair with a face carved on it, which he says, dates back to early 1900s. He also shows a lamp that has New York etched on it, being sold for '3,500.
He says that there is no fixed price tag on the furniture. “It dep-ends on how you bargain,” he admits. The cost of the cupboards is usually upwards of '8,000 and the chairs start from '2,000. Another demand is for furniture designed from the wood of rejected ware. “We make a lot of stuff with old wood. The advantage of the wood is that it does not bend and the final polish sets in nicely,” he informs. As we speak, a drawer with several chambers arrives on the pavement. We can smell a fresh coat of polish on it, while it’s being inspected. “You will get them cheap here. Dealers from Bangur Nagar and as far as Goa and Bengaluru buy them from here and sell them for three times the cost,” sums up Khan, leaving us with imagined narratives of wood, copper and glass.
Timings: 9 am to 9.30 pm (all days)
At: HASS Antiques, Chaturvedi Compound, Oshiwara Bridge, SV Road, Jogeshwari (W).
Call: 9930301714
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