Eclectic Artefacts

If you’ve driven on the East Coast Road, then there's no way you could have overlooked D'Hut—a three-floor store that deals exclusively in artefacts from Africa, Thailand and Burma. There are masks from Ghana and Papua New Guinea, carved Ganeshas from Thailand, repurposed ploughs from Burma and a lot more on offer. This eight-year-old store is a treasure trove where you are bound to discover something unusual in every nook and corner. Neethirajan Subramanian, 40, first thought of this while he was sailing around the world as a marine engineer. He came up with D’Hut in collaboration with his wife K Reshuma once the collection could not fit in their house anymore. They now make two trips a year to remote villages in different countries exploring, learning and buying directly from craftsmen. “Earlier, people only wanted colourful and pretty things that we would bring from Thailand. They are now more open to unconventional crafts from other countries too,” says Subramanian. The couple plans to expand the already unique collection by adding rare artefacts. “We have a lot of wooden toys, fruit baskets and other such economical gifts,” says Reshuma. “We have also started sourcing panels with Indian carving from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu recently. They are expensive, but quite popular. I sense a revival of sorts in Indian arts,” adds Subramanian.

At D’Hut, No. 137 (Old no. 44/1), East Coast Road, Srinivasapuram, Thiruvanmayur

Tel 9443336930 Price Rs 150 onwards