Studio Kahaani

Design: Studio Kahaani

As some of you know, last year I founded Studio Kahaani - an interior design and creative services business. It's been an exciting journey as I begin to grow this brand, and I can't wait to share more about what I'm working on behind the scenes. You can read further about the ethos and services offered at the Studio Kahaani website, but in the meantime I thought I would share a bit about the name and its roots.

Kahaani is a word of Sanskrit origin, and essentially means "story." It also encompasses more nuanced meanings, such as history or anecdote, but the bottom line is that it captures the essence of a central element to my life and creativity - storytelling.

This word, and eventually brand name, has been in my consciousness for years. Long before I had a concrete idea of launching this platform, I knew that the concept of stories and storytelling would be at the heart of it. We see storytelling take many forms, and whether it's a good writer cradled by our hands in a book or a great tale teller at a dinner party saving everyone from boredom, stories captivate us.

I have my own stories to share as well, some of which I do on this blog. But I realized a long time ago that my stories aren't limited to the written word, and come to life through a multitude of sources - interiors, art, environment, music, cultural traditions, and more. I see stories everywhere, and my desire to bring them to life and give them a home has led me to start helping others do the same. If I can help bring other peoples deeply held emotions and stories to life, there is more beauty for all of us to share.

There is a mantra from Vedic scriptures, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, loosely translated as Truth is God and God is Beauty. I say loosely because Vedic philosophy is complex, nuanced, and can itself generate entire debates - not the objective of this post. But the spirit of that philosophy is what is captivating to me, less about the conventional concept of God and more akin to the idea of the god or spirituality within us. So in simple terms (which are the terms I can operate on most busy days around here!), it is a reminder to find our own truth and beauty within us and to use it as our guiding principle.

So at the risk of overstating my objectives, I hope to be able to do my own small part in creating this platform - to share the beauty and stories I have discovered with you, and to inspire and help others in their own efforts to find and create beauty in their own lives. And if the stories haven't all been beautiful thus far, hopefully we can create some beautiful ones together for ourselves and our children.

So thank you for being here, and helping me launch this platform. I'm so happy to have each and every one of you join me, and hope to see you often.