A Lockdown Love Story By Noelle Kadar

I, a New York girl, fell in love with Jaipur in my early 20s - slowly and then all at once. An innocent work trip ended up shaping the course of the rest of my life. It was in Jaipur that I met Siddharth Kasliwal, my first friend in India who years later introduced me to a tall handsome man who I would eventually marry.  The rest as they say is history.

Noelle Kadar and Akshat Ghiya

Jaipur lives up to the cliché of a Royal City; it is elegant beyond compare and has an old-world charm that cannot be replicated – it is a graceful place. The city is full of designers, some who live in Jaipur year round, and many who come in and out.  And because Jaipur is more of a village than anything else, we all know and support each other and create beautiful environments for ourselves, benefiting living with one another’s products.

Foreigners, locals, artists, people from different milieu are drawn are drawn to Jaipur for its elegance and its very specific and often quirky design sensibility. Those of us who live here are perpetually entertaining clients and friends, and friends of friends from all over the world. Gathering in large groups is how we do things in Jaipur.  From dinners at Marie-Anne’s elegant terrace to Nur Kaoukji’s (Ecru) laid back evenings at her magnificent home, to City Palace’s infamous and impeccably curated parties – more often than not graced by Claire Deroo’s (The PDKF Store) impeccable aesthetic, more is always more in Jaipur.

All of that changed with the Covid outbreak. The city fell silent and the previously expansive universe shrunk to the boundaries of our homes. Covid changed the magical formula we were all so used to existing within. No one came to visit and most of the part-timers flew back to the safety of their home countries.   We had all grown accustomed to living with so much stimulation and suddenly without warning, nothing. I speak for all of us when I say, we all felt very alone, and stunned by the immediate quietness of our lives.

Cecilia Morelli, Noelle Kadar and Virginia Borrero

But slowly, as the rules loosened, the few of us still in Jaipur, the ones who live and work here, the ones who have families and relationships, very carefully started spending time with one another. Akshat and I started going for walks in the park with Virginia (De Castro). Marie-Anne began to host small outdoor lunches where we could talk about projects and ideas.  Claire (The PDKF Store) and I began to meet over drinks to laugh and complain.  When Thierry (Idli) had a death in his family and couldn’t go home, we all met to pray and to comfort him. Siddharth (Gem Palace) would come over for a movie night and end up falling asleep on our couch. Simone Marks (Khanoom) would present delicious eggs on a beautifully laid table for my children and me when I simply needed a break.

What started as a loose group of friends transformed into a galvanized community, and friends became advocates. We danced together and cried together, and we all made one another’s lives richer. So when Cecilia and I began to talk about Le Mill’s Jaipur Edit, I thought to myself, let’s make this a celebration of our lifestyle here and let’s show Le Mill how we do Jaipur.  This Jaipur Edit is all about good design and good friends. This is what our life here looks like, we wear each other’s clothes and jewels, we eat and drink, and we make each other’s lives beautiful and we're delighted to share that, through all of our products, made with love in Jaipur, from us to you.

Shop The Pink City Edit here.