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Thofah, which means gift in Hindi, is much more than a shop. It is indeed a gift to all those who treasure eco-friendly products and thereby a gift to Mother Nature herself. And behind the eco-friendly screen is S V Lakshmi, the proud owner.

And what does Lakshmi have to say of her pride of place? Come March and the shop will celebrate its first anniversary. How did the eco-friendly idea strike? With a smile she says, “That was not really intentional.” She had started a gift service in India and abroad, mainly dealing in fresh flowers. On the lookout for members in various cities she was introduced to the corrugated board items from Ahmedabad, which she started supplying to shops. The response was pretty good, she says but it would not be possible to have a shop with just the 26-odd products made of corrugated wood.

Thus began the theme-based sales centred around one particular material, be it terracotta or jute. The idea was that the supplier would take back the unsold products, “but there was nothing for them to take back”. After the sale, people kept coming back for the products, she added. They also had an NGO sale in August 2001, which was a huge success. There were items from Stree Seva Mandir, the Spastics Society, Canstop and the paper bags from Exnora. “It was a no profit no loss sale,” she said.

“For the first sale they had plastic bags, then we stopped giving bags, and finally switched over to newspaper bags. This created an image which we could not get out of,” says Lakshmi.

They then decided to redo the place. False ceiling in jute, mats on the floor, jute curtains, again all eco-friendly! And no glow sign board either. Lakshmi’s husband Vikram, an architect, was very particular. To the extent that he managed to overcome her doubts even as to whether they would be able to make a profit from stocking just these items. From the response of the customers, it was obvious what the preference was. They steered clear of the soft toys and plastic items they had once stocked and today it’s a customer’s delight. And therein lies the test of one’s powers of decision making, so wide is the choice on offer.

From chairs for children and adults (which can take 40 kg and 80 kg respectively) to library boxes, floppy boxes, dustbins and display systems the corrugated board items come in the price range of Rs 20 to Rs 230. And then there are the palm leaf items from Pulicat, the handmade paper products from Bangalore, Pattumadai mats from Tirunelveli, selected pottery from Uttar Pradesh, items from Assam and Kolkata and bags, pottery and beadwork from Chennai.

Even now Lakshmi does have theme-based sales, the only difference being that it concentrates on the craftsperson too. People love to see the person behind the beautiful product and the artisan’s presence makes a lot of difference. However, the size of the shop does not leave room for any demonstration.

Terracotta pots with images of Ganesha embossed on it, painted over in bright metallic colours, bells, lanterns, diyas, tulasimadams, Thofah is a treasure trove indeed. Coming in different sizes, with a set of three costing Rs 480 for the 3x6 size are the Kora grass blinds from Gummidipoondi. A thing of beauty is a joy forever…So over to Thofah.

11, Tapovan,
Arunachalapuram 2nd Street, 
Adyar, Chennai 20 
(Opp Malar Hospital, Behind Sankara School)
Phone: 24903188

Sethulakshmy Nayar

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