Fashion designer Sara Eapen moved to Mumbai 10 years ago, from her home town of Cochin, to study at Sophiya College. Having completed her Sociology course in the city, she went to NIFT, Delhi, to pursue her true passion: Fashion. After a two-year stint with Tarun Tahiliani, back in Mumbai, Sara began to retail her range of Indian, western and fusion wear under her own label, at the upmarket store, Melange.And Sara achieved all this from her paying guest accommodation in Kemp's Corner where she does all her designing. While all the furniture in her room belongs to her Parsi landlord, for over six years Sara has managed to turn her digs into her personal den. For instance, most of the soft furnishings are in Sara's trademark muted tones and come from Anokhi. The back of her cupboard is used as a display for her kaftan and button collection. And an old oven - found outside Anokhi has pride of place next to her bed. "It makes a perfect table. I could not believe someone was throwing it out."In the centreof the room is a large wooden table with African-looking statues. "Only one of the pieces is from Africa. The others are from Dharamsala. You know where the Dalai Lama lives. When I saw them I could not understand what such African-looking statues where doing there." In the far corner is the table from where she works. "I have everything I need here including a fridge and television."Except for silence. Being in a crowded part of Mumbai, there is nothing Sara can do about the background din of the city and its gnarling traffic. Except drown it out. "There is nothing I can do about the noise so I tend to play music all the time so that I am not disturbed." Which explains why Sara's CD collection ranges from Pavarotti to Motown classics.
