It’s not very often that I consult an online name reader to get a perspective about the people I’m going to interview. It’s not even something I deeply believe in. But I turned to an online name reader a few days back, before I stepped out into the February sun to meet Sumitra Chari, who runs A Bit Of Sunday (a 500 square feet reservoir of all things mosaic, glass and furniture on Indiranagar 10th Main Road).
This is what he had to say: “Sumitra is a pleasant, easy-going, friendly person. Personal contacts are important to her. In situations where she is serving others, demonstrating or instructing, she has the patience to go into details that someone else may not think to be important. She likes to plan and think ahead, and does not act impulsively or have plans or routine interfered with.”
I asked Chari what she thought. “It’s pretty accurate.”
Not to mention, she is a rebel in her way. “My father wanted me to be a perfect Tamil Iyer girl and opt for engineering, medicine or doctorate and live in the US. But I crashed the stereotype and chose hotel management.” (She was the F&B supervisor with Oberoi Towers for three years even while a student of English literature and psychology at Sophia’s in Mumbai – later, she did a diploma in advertising and mass communication from St Xavier’s.)
From hospitality, she moved to advertising and worked with three agencies over five years (Rediff, Maa Bozell and O&M, all in Bangalore). That was also the time she met her fiancé, Bharath. Two years of courtship later, the wedding bells rang. That was 1995 when he was working for the business research cell of Hindustan Lever. Today, he is marketing head of Worldspace. “We met through common friends and clicked instantly,” says Chari. “Bharat is multi-talented and has lots of hobbies… he writes software programmes, does farming, reads Tolkien and Hofstadter, plans advertising and marketing strategies.”
And what she does is entirely different at A Bit of Sunday. Much like her, the store is all about accessories for an unhurried, easy-going lifestyle. Whether it’s selling Japanese screens worth Rs 48,000 or mosaic tables and coasters or Tanjore paintings for Rs 225, it’s directed at discerning Bangaloreans who want that little bit which can enhance their home décor and give it a personality their own. Says she: “Besides Bangalore, I source all my stuff from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and catalogues for new products from my expanded family in the states.”
She replenishes her stock every fortnight. Whether it’s Tanjore paintings, serving trays (flower and spice collection), hand-painted ceramic coasters and masks or mosaic tables and accessories, A Bit of Sunday has everything you need to add that extra bit to enhance your home décor.
Born in Chennai, educated in Mumbai and in Bangalore for the past seven years, Chari’s client list includes architects and interior designers like Siraj Hasan, Renu and Sharukh Mistry. Says she: “If it’s mosaic patterns for walls and floors, it’s usually architects and interior designers; for smaller things, it’s anybody and everybody.”
Her other-worldly pursuits are one too many; from listening to Dixie Chicks and Faith Hill to Buddha trance to hanging out with friends at the Baristas to helping her husband with farming to baby sitting her two dogs.
And motherhood? That can wait, says Chari. “Not until I get this baby (A Bit of Sunday) on its feet first.”
I, ME, MYSELF
Sumitra Chari (31)
BA (psychology and English literature); diploma in advertising and mass communication
Chennai-born and in Bangalore for the past 7 years
First job with Oberoi Towers (Mumbai) as F&B supervisor
Two years of courtship led her to marry Bharat, marketing head at Worldspace
Worked with Rediff, Maa Bozell and O&M as account manager
Now works with interior designers and architects as a fine living consultant
Listens to country music and Buddha trance
Hangs out with friends at coffee shops
(First published in City Reporter, 2003)