Designing wellness

At Good Earth’s outpost in Gurugram, Anita Lal and Abha Narain craft an environment that connects you to the rhythms of nature

14 Oct 2025

Namrata Dewanjee

Today, the world of wellness is a perplexing one. Anita Lal, who has long championed the concept of living well, suggests a return to nature. Three decades ago, she opened doors to Good Earth’s first store in Mumbai’s Kemps Corner. Now, the former studio potter and a leading voice on Indian craftsmanship brings her vision to Gurugram.

Yet, when you are inside the boutique, you might just forget you’re in the city. Abha Narain Lambah, the architect behind the space, describes the experience, “As if one had just walked into an old conservatory, with dappled light filtering through the leaves, natural plants and simple materials like wood, raw concrete and old glass.”

“We rarely stop to notice how much of our well-being comes from sensory connection with the natural world. With Earthsong, I wanted to gently awaken all those senses”

Anita Lal of Good Earth

CONTENTMENT THROUGH CONNECTION

Engaging all five senses, Earthsong immerses you in the natural world. Illuminated by light filtering through bamboo screens and jaalis, the tactile rawness of the material palette comes to life. The sound of gurgling water in the distance draws your attention to the stream that flows down the central concrete table. Playing on your olfactory senses, earthy and floral scents ground the atmosphere. Behind these choices is Good Earth’s philosophy of Van Vaibhav. “It evokes the beauty of the moon, the rivers, the winds, the animals and trees, all existing in harmony,” notes Anita. Continuing, “We rarely stop to notice how much of our well-being comes from sensory connection with the natural world. With Earthsong, I wanted to gently awaken all those senses.”

The aforementioned idea of Van Vaibhav traces all the way back to the Rig Veda, which makes it all the more intriguing. Many scholars attribute this scripture as being particularly agnostic, proposing a contentment with the great unknowns of the universe. At Earthsong, Anita shifts the focus from wellness being a luxury ritual to reconnecting with the rhythms of nature.

AN ODE TO ORIGINS

Abha, who has previously designed Good Earth’s outpost at Mumbai’s Raghuvanshi Mills, brings a collaborative spirit to the creative vision. A narrative arc emerges through the space. Rock inscriptions and Tibetan artefacts add a layer of contemplative depth, especially considering the involvement of artist Vineet Kacker, an artist who is inextricably linked to the first 1996 boutique and was a part of the brand’s studio pottery origin. Harking back to the same timeline, the split bamboo chiks in the Gurugram store are crafted by the grandson of the artisan who made the original chiks for Good Earth’s Santushti store in New Delhi 30 years ago. Alongside the handpainted murals that cover the walls with blossoming vines and dreamscapes, Earthsong weaves in a story from the Mughal dossiers. The numerous arched niches that display picturesque vases at the Gurugram outpost echo those in the Chini-Khanas where Mughal kings exhibited their precious Chinese porcelains. This practice was in turn a Silk Route legacy carried forward from the time of the Timurids.

In a space which deliberately repudiates polish and perfection, are refinement and authenticity two opposing ideals? “It depends on the context of the space,” replies Abha. Here, it was important to celebrate imperfections as an ode to nature. From patinated verdigris that lends a bluish-green tint of time to working closely with craftspeople, mistris and artists, Earthsong resists the conventions and confines of cohesion, revelling instead in simplicity and whimsy. In Abha’s words, “Like a page out of a childhood Enid Blyton book.”

One of the most exciting aspects of Blyton’s prose (and one which is still revered beyond criticism) was her ability to build an awe-inspiring world. In a postwar climate abuzz with trepidations of the future, her writing carried an air of ease, adventure and wonder. Not far from the sanctuary of calm and repose of Earthsong in the midst of Gurugram’s urban pandemonium. “From the very beginning, this has been the soul of Good Earth,” says Anita, “to design with nature as our muse and as our teacher. For me, it is also a reminder that beauty is not something ornamental; it lies in the living world around us, in its cycles and rhythms.”