Face off

Meera Ahuja is much more than just Dhurrie Diwan Shyam Ahuja's daughter-in-law.Married to Shyam's son, Vikram, this 38 year old has been ...

Meera Ahuja is much more than just Dhurrie Diwan Shyam Ahuja8217;s daughter-in-law.
Married to Shyam8217;s son, Vikram, this 38 year old has been part of the home furnishings company since the early 8217;80s from the time of her engagement. And most recently, she has worked with Shyam on a new book Dhurrie: Flatwoven Rugs of India 8212; to hit bookstores in early December.

Hmm8230;does that mean she had some writing experience in the past?
Not before this book. Meera had Mridula Maluste, a freelance writer who has also written documentaries for the BBC, helping her out. She enjoyed the experience so much that she is considering staying in publishing. quot;I8217;d like to do more books, not writing them but helping out in the publishing and co-ordinating. I really enjoyed doing the research for this book.quot;

How did Shyam Ahuja and she decide to write a book on rugs anyway?
Elementary, my dear Watson. If the dhurrie diwan does not write about dhurries then who will? quot;Shyam has been wanting to write a book on dhurries sinceI met him. About five years ago, he met Mridula and began work ing on the book. When Vikram told me about it I decided to get involved too.quot;

Did she have the necessary expertise to get involved in the project?
quot;I used to help with product development, publicity and advertising but when my son Adit was born I gave up work to become a full-time mother.quot; A Science student initially quot;I am half-Swedish which is why I did part of my further education in Sweden, where I studied Sciencequot; Meera feels that the discipline inculcated by her subject helped her in the grind of the research. quot;When we started we wanted to write a general book on dhurries but we soon realised that it was too vast a topic for one book. For instance, you cannot even trace when the first dhurrie was made. They date back to the pre-historic era so there are no records. In Dhurrie: Flatwoven Rugs of India we are only looking at rugs that are made for commercial purposes, concentrating on North India.quot;

n So what sort of audience is thebook trying to reach?
quot;Two types of people: those in textiles, as this really is the definitive book on Indian rugs; and general book lovers. It is a beautiful book with over 300 pictures taken by David DeSouza, who we have worked with for over 10 years. Priced at Rs 3,000 8212; it is not too expensive for a coffee-table book.quot;

And how does she feel now that the project is over?
quot;Happy and depressed. Doing it was such fun and the team Shyam, Mridula, David and India Book House8217;s Padmini Mirchandani, our publisher became like a family.quot;

Sounds like the book has become an important part of her life?
quot;Oh yes! I can quote paragraphs from the book. Though the book is Shyam8217;s baby I do feel like the surrogate mother. You could say that Dhurrie8230; is like my second child.quot;

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And how has the response to her newborn baby been so far?
quot;Fantastic! We took it to the Frankfurt Book Fair and people loved it. We had no problem finding a publisher. It is so morale boosting when other people in the industryhave such positive reactions to the book.quot;

Enough about the book. Tell us more about Meera the women?
Well, she does not like talking about herself at all. In fact she is quite a homebody. quot;I lead a quiet life with my two dogs and family.quot;

Well, will she at least tell us how she met her husband?
quot;At the Bombay Gym, I had just come back from Sweden.quot; And married after a three-year courtship.Was there much hype and media coverage when they got married in 1982?
quot;No. Thank god!quot; And that8217;s her final word.