Fiddler on the Roof

Designed by a team comprising renowned international architects Swanke Hayden Connel Architects, USA (architects of Trump Towers, New York), and C P Kukreja & Associates, India, Gold Souk is being promoted by the Aerens Group, one of the leading real estate developers of Delhi.
The country’s first exclusive jewellery mall, the ‘Souk’, meaning bazaar in Arabic, is all set to provide a whole new experience in jewellery shopping by bringing leading jewellers from all over India and abroad under one roof. For all you jewellery-addicts out there, Gurgain’s Gold Souk is definitely the ultimate jewellery destination for this festive season.

Area: 1,80,000 square feet, spread over five floors.

Range of products: Bangles, rings, earrings, chains, necklaces, kundan sets, diamond sets, watches…Mainly jewellery and high-value fashion accessories. Gold Souk offers ornaments in gold, silver, platinum, diamond and other precious and semi-precious stones. Designs here range from trendy international styles to traditional Indian handcrafted work, such as filigree work, kundan work and much more.

The USP: Probably India’s first enclosed, high-security and hassle-free jewellery bazaar that brings master jewellers, top brands and target customers together on the same platform. The average jewellery shopper will be able to access all traditional Indian jewellery styles as well as international trends, right under this roof!

Brands: Top international as well as national brands, such as Hammer Plus, Espirit, Hugo Boss, Citizen, Celeste, Asmi, D’damas, Sangini, Nakshatra, Vygnus, Nirvana, I.K. Silver and many more.

Jewellers: Leading jewellers with their outlets at the Gold Souk include the Dubai-based 22-karat retailer, Alukkas; Kolkata’s traditional master jewellers, B.C. Sen and M.P. Jewellers; Mumbai’s Classic Diamonds, Notandas & Sons, S.K. Gems, Prism and Genesis; and Delhi’s premium jewellery retailer, Bholasons, besides Hazoorilal & Sons, Kaaya, Champalal Jewellers, Zever, JKJ & Sons, Chain House and Rattan Chand Jwala Prasad. Other jewellery houses include Bishan Dayal & Sons from Cuttuck and Talwar Jewelers from Chandigarh.

Anchor store: Avenue Montaigne, one of the largest jewellery brand stores in India. Spread across 10,000 square feet, this outlet offers over 50 jewellery, watch and lifestyle accessory brands for its customers.

Price range: Starting from Rs5,000 to Rs100,000,000.

Customised/ readymades: Gold Souk’s ‘Designer’s Gallery’ is probably the first of its kind in the country. Housing some of our best-known jewellery designers – such as Manish Khattar, Urmila Kumar, Monica Kapur, Ruhee Nanda, Rosily Paul and Love Agarwal – it offers a wide array of custom-made jewellery options for customers.

Other facilities: A 7,000 square feet exhibition space, a food court on the third floor, a dedicated children’s play area, a beauty salon and ATM and bank counters. In addition to such services, it is also worth nothing that the building has been specially designed for the convenience of physically challenged and elderly customers.

Upcoming attraction: An executive lounge on the fourth floor (for bored husbands whose wives are out shopping for jewellery!) that will be complete with facilities for refreshments, entertainment and dedicated net connections. Entrance to it will be by invitation from jewellery stores or through tie-ups with credit card companies.

Security: Gold Souk provides state-of-the-art security arrangements – such as metal detectors, close circuit cameras, identification cards, X-ray machines, access control, fire detection and response systems – for both its valued customers as well as tenant retailers.

Product guarantee: The jewellery outlets showcased at Gold Souk are hallmark establishments that come with their own brand equity.

Parking: Two-level basement parking, which can accommodate nearly 1,500 cars.

Timings: 11:00am–8:00pm

Days closed: Wednesdays

Future plans: Nine other Gold Souks are in the pipeline across the nine Indian cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin.

Address
C-Block, Sushant Lok, Phase I, Gurgaon

Inputs: Saon Bhattacharya
Photographs: Vipin Kardam

Raseel Gujral – the very name spells understated chic. The daughter of Satish Gujral and married to the handsome and debonair, Naveen Ansal, Raseel is hardly the woman to get overshadowed by the men in her life. A creative artist in her own right, she runs the interior designing venture, Casa Paradox, along with her husband from their retail store at 1 MG Road. Her designs reflect the same classy elegance and the quite self-conviction, which defines her work and her creations. Ms Gujral’s ease at being the person she is has proved to be the wellspring of her creative energy as it were.

Ensconced within the warmth of her beautiful Mehrauli home – complete with her father’s paintings and a lily pool at the centre of the courtyard – she let FnL catch her in her many moods…

My work
At our interior designing firm, I handle everything from corporate and large-scale projects to designing furniture and home accessories. While I handle the design part of it, my husband takes care of the production bit. My emphasis is always more on creating a mood than just a piece of furniture. That is what brings cohesion to my work.

My fashion
My sense of fashion is not at all fad-driven. I believe that above all else one needs to be comfortable with one’s identity. In that sense fashion is very personal.

Shopping hubs
I usually buy art and books and I mostly shop at 1 MG Road because of its accessibility. I’m crazy about jewellery and I get it largely from outlets at Sundernagar and from my sister.

My passion
I love saris! I could wear them all the time, except for the fact that these days one feels so overdressed in a sari, since everyone else around seems to be underdressed! I generally buy mine from Laffaire and Banaras Art House.

Home needs
For my home, I either pick things from abroad or have them made myself. Good Earth is also a good place for home shopping.

Brand wagon
I’m not brand driven at all and hate obvious branding of all sorts. I believe that a good brand should be able to speak for itself, instead of through its labels. I like Armani for its classicism, Hugo for men, and for women I like the colourful and oriental style statement of Shanghai Tang.

I’ve got designs on
Closer home, I like the work of Ranna and Ogaan. Meera Muzaffar Ali makes some fabulous stuff and of course, Pratap.

Night out
I could hardly be called a foodie, what appeals more to me than the people and the food, is the whole ambience and mood of a particular place. I like the design sense of Trident, its old New World feel. I like Spice Route for its drama and Olive for its style.

My city
Delhi is home! Good, bad or ugly, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I like the pace and the scale of my city. I like it for its sophistication, its art scene and the crafts convergence.

Favourite actor
I love movies. But more of Hollywood and alternative cinema. George Cloony would have to be my favourite actor.

Leisurely pursuits
I read a lot. I like watching movies and I also tend to my garden. But I would have to say that when I’m home, most of my time is spent in caring for my child.

Weekend getaway
It’s the entire Shekhawati route for us. Samode, Nimrana, Jaipur – never the hills!

Hottest holiday destinations
My family likes travelling. My husband and I used to do these exotic destinations like Morocco and Mexico before our son was born. Now our travel plans have become entirely child-oriented – we go to places like London and Singapore, where he has enough and more to do! But now that he’s grown up a little more, we’re planning on South Africa for our next trip.

Quote me on this:
You’ve just got to be yourself!

Inputs: Saon Bhattacharya
Photographs: Naveesh Tejpal