Tilka Brings India and the Middle East to Makati
by Tisha Alvarez, Managing Editor, Real Living
In college, I would probably spend at least a couple of nights a month at the house of one of my best friends, who happened to be Indian. I was so interested in her culture and was constantly gorging on their home-cooked food that it prompted my friend’s dad to declare, “I think you’re half-Bumbay!” (Perhaps I was Indian in a past life—even in Singapore, one of my absolute favorite spots is Little India! It kind of felt like I was home the first time I went there.)
So it’s no surprise that I was totally charmed by Tilka, a home and fashion accessories store with lovely items imported from India and equally enchanting Egypt, Turkey, and Dubai. (“Tilka” or bindi is Hindi for forehead decoration.) Owned and managed by Karisma and Arrun Bhavnani, the store opened just last August, offering unique items with vibrant colors and ornate designs—definitely for the “maximalists”! A few unusual finds: candleholders and vases in the form of elephants and camels, shisha pipes with their own carrying case, embellished toiletry sets, incense holders, and even pretty candle snuffers (something I’ve long been searching for).