Home Stories: Architect Preeti Goel Sanghi’s masks & figurines
Preeti Goel Sanghi is an architect and professor with decades of varied experience including working with Museum of Solutions, JSW Foundation, and Urban Design Research Institute, among others. She is currently the head of experiential living at Lodha.
If you ever get invited to Preeti’s lovely home in Mumbai, the first thing you would notice is a wall completely claimed by stunning masks that have come from different parts of the world. If at all you are able to take your eyes off that wall, you will then see a huge collection of figurines spread across all over the living room - she has about 70 masks and more than 20 figurines right now. Her living room is basically an art gallery with a permanent exhibition of masks and figurines which she started collecting when she got married and found a mask in her husband’s cupboard. Let’s hear the story from Preeti herself.
Narrated by Preeti Goel Sanghi
My story with masks began when I found a mask in my husband's cupboard actually - a Kathakali costume mask (unfortunately, I don’t have that anymore). I thought it was really amazing and it provided a perfect counterbalance to the drab grey colour of the wall of our then living room. That was the start of a lifelong passion. During our honeymoon, I picked up my first few masks from a tribal community. I think that masks are so unique and have so much character. And I wanted to make that uniqueness a part of my life. Personally, that was a transition phase for me as a person as I had just gotten married and my identity was evolving. I wanted to have a distinctive place in the world that I was now inhabiting, and collecting masks personified that for me.
“Personally, that was a transition phase for me as a person as I had just gotten married and my identity was evolving. I wanted to have a distinctive place in the world that I was now inhabiting, and collecting masks personified that for me.”
When we moved to our second home, I had an opportunity to create a space in my own way. I dedicated one whole wall to display the growing collection of masks. Every time I went to an exhibition or on a holiday, I would add something to the collection and it just organically grew from that. Some of the most interesting masks I have are from Kenya. There is always a big story behind those masks as they are such a huge part of their culture. At times, getting these masks have led to some very interesting conversations and friendships too. Once I was in a shop looking for masks and couldn't decide what mask to buy, and there was this woman in the shop who could overhear me. She spotted something and just recommended it to me, like you would help a close friend with clothes shopping! That was a start of a friendship, and till today we are friends. We bond over interiors, design, and of course masks.
Seeing the masks on my living room wall is a feeling of homecoming for me. We have moved several houses over the course of our marriage, and the wall with masks is something that’s always been a constant. It instantly makes me feel at home. It’s also something that binds the sense of ‘home’ for me and my husband. There’s a mask for my every mood. They often bring a smile to my face and sometimes, a gush of memories. So many associations with each of them!
I think the idea of having a wall that truly stands out probably had its genesis in my childhood. When I was really young, we went to a relative’s house who had this really blue beautiful Dhokra (a form of metal craft) wall. It really impacted me, and craft is something I have always loved. Having crafts at home creates an organic connection and cultural expression.
Even though masks are easy to bring back and don’t take up much space in the house, my mask collection has now grown beyond what the walls could take. So I have moved on to collecting figurines…and the journey continues.
