Step inside Sona Mohapatra’s apartment ‘Tarasha’ with ‘awkward’ design flaws and eclectic elements

Singer Sona Mohapatra recently gave a glimpse into her Mumbai home, which she shares with her singer-composer husband Ram Sampath. Sona and Ram have named their home Tarasha, an amalgamation of the names of their respective mothers, Tara and Asha. Apart from a dining area which Sona described as a design flaw, the house has a variety of Indian handicrafts that she has collected during her travels. Also Read| Step inside Kangana Ranaut’s new, second Manali home that’s ‘authentically mountain style’, made of river stone

Sona gave a tour of her apartment for Beautiful Homes, who described the house as a ‘whimsical cabinet of curiosities.’ Sona explained the description, “As I child, I was a very curious child. I would land up in a place or go around exploring a place. Finding little corners, finding little surprises, and somehow you don’t find that in the home of Bombay because obviously space is a constraint. So to have found a home, which has a bunch of things that are awkward…”

At the mention of awkward things, Sona pointed out to her dining room area, which has chairs on one side of the table and a large swing on the other. There is no space on the other two sides of the table, because of which, one will have to go around the wall all the way through the other room to set on the swing. Sona recalled that an architect friend of hers from New York described not having direct access to the swing seating as a ‘huge flaw.’ She added, “I remember calling Tejal (her interior designer) and laughing about it, saying, ‘what do they know, we are not normal like that. We like to take this round.'”

Sona also revealed that every object in her home has a name and is never seen as an inanimate object. Tejal Mathur, a close friend of Sona who has also designed the house, said that she had an understanding of what kind of items Sona has in her home and will collect in the future because of her work which includes travel and meeting other artists. She said Sona would have something that is ‘eclectic’ and ‘something that is also rooted to her own part of this country’ — her home state Odisha. Tejal said that the home is bespoke and cosy like a cottage.

Sona said about her house, “I’m happy to fail, and I am happy to have flaws, and have my own sense of what is stylish. Sona’s house also contains a number of artworks, stained windows, and a staircase along a double-heighted wall featuring paint strokes that have worn out over time.

Sona said her house is a combination of a lot of memories of her travels, recalling that the black and white tiles in one section of her bedroom were inspired by The Raffles Hotel in Singapore where she played her first show abroad as a musician 15 years ago. Her colourful wardrobe is filled with clothes and jewellery she has collected over the years, and Sona insists that she still uses them all as she is a performing artist. Sona concluded by saying that as a military kid, she has almost tuned to not feeling settled or rooted, but this house makes her feel like ‘home.’