traditionally indians do not have a sense of interior design believes furniture designer sujatha shankar kumar who has been researching the evolution of furniture in india for a few years now no one wants to say it but its a fact that apart from the homes of the more well to do people the idea of interior design in india is more practical believes kumar who completed a masters in the school of the art institute of chicago before settling down in chennai in 2003 at the recently concluded madras week kumar spoke about what the short crazy history of furniture design in india while our country boasts of a fantastic fusion of styles from foreign influences mughal british portuguese and french for centuries pure indian furniture has always been frugal indias tropical climate never called for the need to develop the interior space says kumar the use of cane is synonymous with the tropical climate for furniture that breathes better the loose cushions are easier to maintain again showing that indian furniture is all about being practical says kumar indigenous furniture she says was made to suit needs the pai or mat to sleep on the simple kattil cot the easytomove mukkal threelegged stool jhoolas or oonjals swing and thottils baby cots each of these if we observe carefully caters to a specific need says kumar who has also worked on conservation projects for tiru vannamalaibased ramanashramams photo archive the formal development of furniture is connected with trade and foreign influence when the portuguese came to india and established numerous colonies along the coast we began to see interior space with character says kumar indian craft and motifs then began being merged with european styles of furniture design the style of furniture using the elephant as a motif was popular in india in the late 19th and early 20th century she says alexander hunter who set up the madras school of arts in 1850 that eventually came to be known as the government college of arts and crafts was reportedly committed to nullifying the negative effects which the large imports of european manufacturers had on native handicrafts his aim was to train students in useful occupations says kumar