Kanika Dewan: Meet the diva who designed floors of IGI's T3 terminal
At 1 am, the day Terminal 3 was to be inaugurated by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Delhi two years ago,Kanika Dewan was trying to spot tiles that were out of place at the brand-new airport.
The 33-year-old designer's 800-strong army of engineers and workers had finished the flooring comfortably ahead of time, but she was still worried about pieces that might have not fit to perfection.
A senior executive from GMR, the contractor for the airport project, came to know about Dewan's midnight prowl and promptly arrived to whisk her away and make way for security personnel. The airport terminal was a showcase piece in terms of standards in design and, after it was opened, international tourists walked in to a spanking new airport that sought to redefine India.
Floor Power
Four years before that, Dewan — whose family is based in West Asia — was on a visit to New Delhi and happened to flip through a newspaper that carried an article about the proposed makeover of the international airport in the city.
The entrepreneur decided that she wanted to be associated with the project and soon her company won a bid. "This was a project that would change the way people looked at India and I wanted to be part of it," she says.
With exotic marble and granite from her family-owned mines in Bahrain, Kanika Dewan, an NRI, now wants to make it big in the land of jugaad.
At 1 am, the day Terminal 3 was to be inaugurated by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Delhi two years ago,Kanika Dewan was trying to spot tiles that were out of place at the brand-new airport.
The 33-year-old designer's 800-strong army of engineers and workers had finished the flooring comfortably ahead of time, but she was still worried about pieces that might have not fit to perfection.
A senior executive from GMR, the contractor for the airport project, came to know about Dewan's midnight prowl and promptly arrived to whisk her away and make way for security personnel. The airport terminal was a showcase piece in terms of standards in design and, after it was opened, international tourists walked in to a spanking new airport that sought to redefine India.
Floor Power
Four years before that, Dewan — whose family is based in West Asia — was on a visit to New Delhi and happened to flip through a newspaper that carried an article about the proposed makeover of the international airport in the city.
The entrepreneur decided that she wanted to be associated with the project and soon her company won a bid. "This was a project that would change the way people looked at India and I wanted to be part of it," she says.
 |
Dewan's family-owned business, Bramco, headquartered in Bahrain, carried out the floor work for the airport. More than 130,000 sq m of tiles were laid before the deadline of 11 months was over. TheCommonwealth Games were to be hosted and work was carried out at a frantic pace.
After the project for the Delhi International Airport,Bramco is now working on a similar project with the Mumbai International Airport. The company has also done the flooring for a Leela Hotels project in Delhi.
No Stone Unturned
Dewan moved to Bahrain after her father, then an executive with a Kolkata-based company, went to West Asia to set up limestone quarrying. The company later got into mining and has operations across the region.
For somebody who has contributed to designing mansions of several billionaires, apart from the work at the airports, Dewan does not boast of a design education. After majoring in finance at the Wharton business school, instead of continuing withinvestment banking, in which she had dabbled for a while, Dewan decided to become an interior designer.
For Dewan, it was not just about following her creative aspirations. She also wanted to build on a sound business idea. Bramco owns mines in Bahrain and Dubai from where rocks are polished into marbles and granite. With these mines at her disposal, apart from a few in Italy and Brazil, Dewan had access to exotic stones such as the Blue Macuba and the Blue Bahia.
After the project for the Delhi International Airport,Bramco is now working on a similar project with the Mumbai International Airport. The company has also done the flooring for a Leela Hotels project in Delhi.
No Stone Unturned
Dewan moved to Bahrain after her father, then an executive with a Kolkata-based company, went to West Asia to set up limestone quarrying. The company later got into mining and has operations across the region.
For somebody who has contributed to designing mansions of several billionaires, apart from the work at the airports, Dewan does not boast of a design education. After majoring in finance at the Wharton business school, instead of continuing withinvestment banking, in which she had dabbled for a while, Dewan decided to become an interior designer.
For Dewan, it was not just about following her creative aspirations. She also wanted to build on a sound business idea. Bramco owns mines in Bahrain and Dubai from where rocks are polished into marbles and granite. With these mines at her disposal, apart from a few in Italy and Brazil, Dewan had access to exotic stones such as the Blue Macuba and the Blue Bahia.
A senior executive with L&T, the contractor for the Delhi terminal, says the fact that Bramco had access to raw materials from its own mines ensured that there was no supply crunch at any point of time. He adds that the hallmark of the work done by Bramco was its sophistication.
Bramco is now proving to be the base of Dewan's new business. After her Wharton days, she decided to start a vertically integrated design firm that would capitalise on the exclusive availability of exotic marbles and granite from Bramco's mines.
Bramco is now proving to be the base of Dewan's new business. After her Wharton days, she decided to start a vertically integrated design firm that would capitalise on the exclusive availability of exotic marbles and granite from Bramco's mines.
After she showcased her designs for an apartment at an exhibition in New York, her company Ka Design Atelier was invited to plan the flooring of several mansions. Subsequently, the company entered theGuinness World Records for executing the largest mosaic portrait in the world, using only handmade marble tiles.
The 8x5 m portrait of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman, presented to him in November 2010 on the 40th anniversary of his accession to power, was created out of stones sourced from the mountains and seabeds of Oman. The portrait was made using 128,274 individual pieces of 90 different shades of marble.
Designs on India
"In the US, I first worked on residential projects and then switched to commercial properties. But in India I am doing the reverse," says Dewan. Ka Atelier is now setting up a design studio in Defence Colony in south Delhi which is expected to open in four months.
The company plans to showcase its floor designs, wall embellishments and exclusive bathroom designs at the studio. These have been designed using the marbles procured from Bramco mines. "Each of our concepts is made exclusively for the client. We will not replicate any design and therefore they are high-end," she says.
Dewan says her father was rather sceptical of her move back to India and her ability to handle bribe-seekers. "Initially, I did run into problems at the site but then we reported such people and each one was dealt with," she says. Getting payment on time too has become an issue.
"In the US, if a firm is not paid on time, it will threaten to sue the buyer; but in India if payments are delayed, it is the buyer who says 'why don't you go to court?'"
Having burnt her fingers with some of the early projects, Dewan has decided to revisit her contract. "Now I insist on advance payments and I put my foot down on ad hoc deductions," she says. "I have been in Delhi for four years and I am finally beginning to understand why they use that word 'jugaad' in this city," she says, referring to the capital's obsession with sly, backdoor solutions to everyday problems.
The 8x5 m portrait of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman, presented to him in November 2010 on the 40th anniversary of his accession to power, was created out of stones sourced from the mountains and seabeds of Oman. The portrait was made using 128,274 individual pieces of 90 different shades of marble.
Designs on India
"In the US, I first worked on residential projects and then switched to commercial properties. But in India I am doing the reverse," says Dewan. Ka Atelier is now setting up a design studio in Defence Colony in south Delhi which is expected to open in four months.
The company plans to showcase its floor designs, wall embellishments and exclusive bathroom designs at the studio. These have been designed using the marbles procured from Bramco mines. "Each of our concepts is made exclusively for the client. We will not replicate any design and therefore they are high-end," she says.
Dewan says her father was rather sceptical of her move back to India and her ability to handle bribe-seekers. "Initially, I did run into problems at the site but then we reported such people and each one was dealt with," she says. Getting payment on time too has become an issue.
"In the US, if a firm is not paid on time, it will threaten to sue the buyer; but in India if payments are delayed, it is the buyer who says 'why don't you go to court?'"
Having burnt her fingers with some of the early projects, Dewan has decided to revisit her contract. "Now I insist on advance payments and I put my foot down on ad hoc deductions," she says. "I have been in Delhi for four years and I am finally beginning to understand why they use that word 'jugaad' in this city," she says, referring to the capital's obsession with sly, backdoor solutions to everyday problems.
Source : K P NARAYANA KUMAR,ET BUREAU
