Ahmedabad, 12th of July 2008, Gujarat

Soon Ahmedabad will have a Chair Museum. Most probably in the end of this year. Surendra Patel of Ahmedabad’s famous Vishala restaurant has conceived it. Traveling across India in search of different types of traditional chairs, Surendra Patel has already collected some 300 chairs so far. His ultimate target is to collect at least 1000 chairs for his Chair museum that he intends to start before next year. Surendra Patel’s Vishala resaurant has already one museum that consists collection of ancient utensils and locks.

High back chairs came to India during the British period. Till then, Bajath, Khatli and low seating furniture was popular in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Surendra Patel has collected most of the chairs from these two regions.

Mr. Patel observes each chair’s story in unique way. He says “Each chair reflects different story. When a person needed to relax, he would use a chair with angled armrest, that slows down circulation of blood. Dining chairs have no armrests as it creates discomfort while consuming food. Some chairs display dignity, some exhibit laziness while others are welcoming.”

Let’s wait for this new museum to come up !