Peephole into the past: This furniture market is a delight

ldquoBoss see but donrsquot take photosrdquo 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 grandmotherrsquos 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 nostalgiaThe shop is chocablock with lamps and clocksAll around us were furniture with traces of time on them but often unidentified There were art deco tables mdash 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 copiedOwners claim this chair to be from the early 1900sThis 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 ldquoThey are scared needlessly But then business has been slow People donrsquot want such heavy furniture these daysrdquoA lantern with the term New York etched on itThe 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 ldquoThese days people live in smaller houses and prefer lighter furniture It is also cheaper We still do have buyers but the numbers are going downrdquo he says During our chat with Khan we learn that until 1966 the family business was located in BandraShoaib Khanrsquos family runs Hass AntiqueEven 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 3500He says that there is no fixed price tag on the furniture ldquoIt depends on how you bargainrdquo he admits The cost of the cupboards is usually upwards of 8000 and the chairs start from 2000 Another demand is for furniture designed from the wood of rejected ware ldquoWe 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 nicelyrdquo 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 itrsquos being inspected ldquoYou 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 costrdquo sums up Khan leaving us with imagined narratives of wood copper and glassTimings 9 am to 930 pm all daysAt HASS Antiques Chaturvedi Compound Oshiwara Bridge SV Road Jogeshwari WCall 9930301714