Metroscape

July 10, 2000

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Crystal Clear Stuff

When Pijush Kumar Das flicks a switch his coffee table lights up into an aquarium. It goes well with his glass couch where gold fish swim right up to the headrest. This engineer -cum-artist-cum-interior designer's fashionably futuristic Howrah home is all in glass -- he's an eco-freak who wants to save wood. "I like to bring the wilderness into the bedroom,"says Das. One time, he actually did with a waterfall dressing table which had a tank cleverly disguised with gravel and pebbles. But the masterpiece of Das' eco-furniture is an aquarium bed, for which he's flying in special transparent mattresses and water pillows. "To watch the fish before you sleep," says Das' sister and partner Pompa, as if it's the done thing. At least it beats counting sheep. "Treated right, glass can last a lifetime," says Das. His furniture is slated for a big opening at Germany's World Glass Trade Fair in 2002. Besides his most lucrative customers, NRIs, his items dot the homes of Calcutta's glitterati -- Tollywood stars, politicians, even Chief Minister Jyoti Basu owns a table. With a price tag that ranges from Rs 500 to a few lakhs, just about anyone can afford it. He's been invited over to Ooty to talk business with actor Mithun Chakraborty. "Mithunda called up to say my furniture was just what he was looking for," says a delighted Das. Looks like his eco-furniture really gets around.

-Labonita Ghosh

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