In farm

NOTE:  I’m NOT a dealer in wooden pillars.  So, please DO NOT call me inquiring for the same.  The best places for you to get these wooden pillars are from two places:   1) Pondicherry.  On the East Coast Road (ECR), near Auroville, there are dozens of antique shops that has these pillars. No, I don’t have the phone numbers of any of them.   2) The other place is Karaikudi in Tamilnadu. 

Unfortunately, I can’t provide any more information on these wooden pillars. Thank you for respecting my privacy and not calling me. I’ve been getting way too many calls and hence this message. Appreciate it. 

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While the foundation work for the farmhouse is progressing, I shifted my attention to hunting for the perfect wooden pillars ( or Thoons as they call locally). These ‘thoons’ have a strong emotional attachment for me. They are strong symbol of a village abode. Long before I finalized the house plan, I had finalized the decision that it will have wooden pillars!

Thankfully, I didn’t have to travel far to find some great ones. After Karaikudi, Pondicherry is the best place to find antique wooden pillars for sale. Thanks to foreigners who appreciate our antique woodwork, there is a flourishing antique trade. There are about a dozen such antique shops and all of them lie in a single strip on the road between Pondicherry town and Auroville.

I spent over 5 hours visiting every single shop in the strip. I painstakingly checked out almost every single wooden pillar available and mentally short-listed a few of them. The challenge here is to find 4 identical pillars. All the four pillars will form the front facade of the farm house.

Among the short-listed ones are these 4 wooden pillars seen above. They are in an unpolished state and needs to be cured and polished.  We have heavy termite problem in our land and hence these will have to be chemically treated to protect them from being eaten up.

Here is another antique furniture shop that I visited. I loved the door on the right but its only 5 feet high.

Here’s me checking out the pillars in a different shop in Tindivanam, about an half-hour’s drive from Pondicherry.  The cost of each wooden pillar ranges between Rs.10,000 to Rs.35,000. The price varies depending on the variety of the wood. Teak and Rosewood demand the highest rates.

Lots of antique woodwork that goes along with the pillars lying strewn around.  What you see here are called ‘Bhondil‘ which is the woodwork that is placed on top of the pillar.  The more grander the woodwork, the higher the price.

Here is a ‘Bhondil‘ that I liked at first sight. Unfortunately, the guy did not have 4 identical pieces and hence had to look for other options.  This week, I’ll go on a second visit to all the antique shops once again to finalize what will adorn my home.  The process of selection is painstaking and slow but there’s a special joy in hunting for the right one your heart loves.

NOTE:  I’m NOT a dealer in wooden pillars.  So, please DO NOT call me inquiring for the same.  The best place for you to get these wooden pillars is from two places:   1) Pondicherry.  On the East Coast Road (ECR), near Auroville, there are dozens of shops that has these pillars. No, I don’t have the phone numbers of any of them.   2) Karaikudi in Tamilnadu. 

Unfortunately, I can’t provide any more information on these wooden pillars. Thank you for appreciating my privacy and not calling me. 

Thank you.