||*Raj -Lata Love corner#5*|| - Page 2

When you enter Sameer Dharmadhikari's home at Film City Road, Goregaon, you could be forgiven for thinking you have entered a wada in Pune. Sameer, a model and film artiste, and his wife, camerawoman Aparna, are true Punekars. When Aparna's maternal aunt's wada in Pune was demolished, they decided to transport parts of it to Mumbai to recreate the feel in their Mumbai home.

The Dharmadhikaris' brought 12 blocks of sleeper wood from C.S. Road, Bhuleshwar, paying Rs 1,200 per block, and Aparna's mother sent the family carpenter over from Pune with four assistants. The carpenters cut the sleeper wood, and put the outer, uneven side on the main door, which was then decorated with a brass sun.

Wood was also used extensively in the hall. The house has also been decorated with several artefacts they have collected at various exhibitions. For the Dharmadhikaris , it has been a long journey to their seventh floor home at Chitravani Society.

They have been living there for just a year and a half, but are well settled now; though Aparna is the youngest member, she is the secretary. They first arrived in Mumbai 11 years ago, and stayed in a chawl at Santa Cruz east. The room, at Saikrupa Seva Sangh, was 10 x 8 feet and had a temporary roof. The bathroom inside was barely 3 x 2.5 feet, and there was a small loft toilet that was common for everyone.

Home-buying is... a good experience. Thankfully it wasn't too tough for me. My wife took all the pain of hunting for a home. We've spent most of our years in Pune. And I must say houses in Pune are pretty spacious, so when we saw this flat we didn't know what to do, because the rooms here are small as compared to the ones in Pune. But the best thing about my flat is that it's on the seventh floor and so it's really airy.