Photographs by Prabuddha Das Gupta

A tangerine board outside a farmhouse down one of Goa's country lanes in Sangolda village simply says, 'Monsoon Heritage'. It is the address of the iconic interior designer pair - Yahel Chirinian and Doris Zacheres - who shifted into the two-storied Portuguese-styled colonial house earlier this year. The place doubles as home and workplace for the creative women. Chirinian's mixed French-Lebanese parentage is reflected infectiously in her English that is liberally peppered with bons and ouis! The blue-eyed Zacheres is German.

The two women have turned designing interior spaces into a fine art. Their unique creations are much sought after not just in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi in India but abroad as well, in Los Angeles and Paris. In Goa since the last six years - with their personal objets d'art collection as a backdrop - the women make a lovely picture of warmth, depth and partnership.

Strolling into their studio rooms is like walking into the presence of a living, magical light that speaks eloquently, inspires dreams even in those who have long since stopped dreaming, something that Chirinian wishes for ardently. No wonder then that natural light filters in through the wide windows and through the tiled roof overhead, highlighting each of their signature beauties. Curvaceous, hollowed out tree trunks, wrapped beguilingly in mirror mosaic and fairy lights, are born-again humble "driftwood logs" picked up from beaches or just fallen trees from farms. They have been painstakingly transformed into statuesque lights to invite attention in crème de la crème homes. The Monsoon Heritage Totem Lights collection has become such a big success that a fan in Milan has ordered 30 pieces from their new collection this year. Chirinian explains, "This is ambience lighting to create emotions. For me, a thing of beauty must move and inspire feelings. These new totem lights will be encrusted with crystal stones."