‘Quietly he lives, quietly he dies,

Amidst the wilderness’

-U Soso Tham

There are few more evocative descriptions of the spirit of Khasi life in the Cherrapunji hills. Even today, with the threat of mass tourism and growing urbanisation, parts of Sohra are still reminiscent  of less restless times.

This rustic stone and pine wood house, designed by us in Sohra, Meghalaya was recently featured in the Elle Decor, India print and digital versions and I was reminded to share a few more details about the project.

Out of station projects such as this one often allow the opportunity to learn about other cultures in a deeper way. It’s an aspect of work  I particularly enjoy. Having lived in Sohra for an extended period of time, I experienced a gentle pace of life and a kind community, proud of its history and land.

Cut away from the ease of city supplies and merchandise, we sought  the skills of  local iron smiths, basket weavers, carpenters and stone cutters. Their style was natural and  unostentatiously elegant — in perfect understanding and  harmony to the surrounding environment. Cut away from my regular environment and  influences, I  sought the knowledge of their diminishing indigenous religion, Niam Khasi. The Khasis have no  temples, churches, mosques or synagogues. God is considered to be everywhere. All parts of the earth are sacred and one part is not more sacred than the other.  The gentleness of this religion, its people, their land and culture certainly found its way into the design of this home. Much of the original design (sketched out in Delhi with reference books) was altered after my stay in Cherapunji. These images represent the texture of the project quite well. You can read more about the project on the Elle Decor site 

Herbal tea at site on an unpolished table made at site

This image is a good representation of the materials we used through the house–pine wood, metal, grass and stone

A pantry with handmade tiles from New Delhi complimented the tones of Khasi pine and stone. The hydrangeas were picked at site, where minor vegetation grows.

Old Kansa plates from the clients family line a naturally distressed almirah. They were found in old trunks at the family home in Shillong

This is the sitting room on the top level of the house. The furniture belonged to the family. The table was a repurposed bed made by us

The is a corner of a bedroom in the house. Khasi stone  is joined together by the dry wall method here. The mooda is from Shillong and the table was made at site

A long shot of the bedroom  with furniture made by local carpenters at site. We made the furnishings in Delhi

A corner of sitting room After work I enjoyed spending time in this particular corner. It was a spot that faced the river on one side and a  fire place on the other.

Another corner of the sitting room. We used local mats, ‘Tlieng’ through the home and left the planks of Khasi pine on the floor rough hewn