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Jayanagar, Bengaluru
Taamboolam
A family home of three guest floors and a terrace, kept as a homestay. Rooms are taken one at a time, by enquiry.
About
A house somebody made
Taamboolam is a family home in Jayanagar that was built slowly and is still cared for by the people who built it. The tiles, the joinery, the cane and the small things on the shelves were chosen one at a time rather than specified in a schedule, and none of it was bought to look like anything in particular.
It is not a hotel and it does not behave like one: no front desk, no key card, no menu card. What it asks in return is that you treat it as a house — one that other people are also living in while you are here.
Where the name comes from
Taamboolam is the tray offered to a guest at the end of a visit in South India — betel leaves and areca nut, usually with a coconut, some fruit, turmeric and kumkum. Each part carries something: the leaf freshness and respect, the nut firmness, the coconut and fruit abundance.
What matters is the gesture rather than the objects. Somebody came, they were received, and they do not leave empty-handed. The house is named after that, and tries to behave like it.
Best suited to guests who would rather stay in a home than in a room.
The house is lived in. Guests are invited into it, not around it.
The arrangement
A floor is a household
Every guest floor is the same plan. What changes between them is the light, the height and the materials — never the layout.
- Two guest bedrooms, sharing a common bathroom
- One master bedroom, with a walk-in closet and an attached bathroom
- A balcony off the master bedroom
- A living room, dining area and kitchen, shared only by that floor
The same on Floors 1, 2 and 3.
Rooms are taken one at a time. With enough people, a floor becomes yours.
A kettle, a microwave, a bar fridge, cutlery and crockery. No stove.
The floors
Three floors, and the terrace above them
Floors 1, 2 and 3 are the same plan in three different tempers — the light, the height and the materials change, the layout does not. Above them the terrace belongs to nobody in particular, which is why everybody ends up there.
How it is made
Made slowly, by people, from materials that age well
The surfaces were chosen rather than specified, and much of the work was done by people the family had worked with before. Tiles made by hand and cured in the sun carry small irregularities a machine would have corrected. Things were made one at a time, and it shows.
Food, if you ask for it
South Indian home cooking, made fresh and organic, arranged on request. North Indian food can be arranged too if that is what you would rather eat. All of it vegetarian, like the house.
Sourced on request. No fixed menu, no set price, no timings.
How the house is lived in
This suits some people more than others
Taamboolam is slow, quiet and rooted in its street. Better said plainly here than discovered on arrival.
- No smoking
- Anywhere inside the house.
- No parties
- Small gatherings can be arranged in advance. Parties cannot, and this is not negotiable.
- Children are welcome
- Children under 10 stay free when accompanied by a parent. Tell us how many are coming so we can suggest the right floor.
- The house is pure vegetarian
- No meat, fish or eggs, in the kitchens or anywhere else in the house. The food arranged for guests is vegetarian too.
- Pets are not accommodated
- We love animals too, but to protect the comfort of the home and all our guests, pets are not accommodated.
More house values
- Keep the noise down
- Other people are living here at the same time, on other floors. Ordinary conversation is fine; carrying voices at midnight are not.
- Outside visitors need prior approval
- Ask before somebody who is not staying comes up. It is usually fine. It is never fine unannounced.
- No single-use plastics
- The house runs without them. Please help it keep doing that.
The house's character
- The kitchens are for keeping, not cooking
- Each floor has a microwave, a bar fridge, a kettle, cutlery and crockery. There is no stove and no chimney, so meals cannot be cooked here — food is sourced for you on request.
- Treat the house as made, not bought
- The tiles, the wood, the objects and the surfaces were made by people, mostly by hand. Live with them normally, but notice them.
- A slower way of staying
- This is a home on a residential street, not a base for a fast itinerary. Guests who enjoy it are the ones who slow down to meet it.
The practical details
- Floors 1, 2 and 3 are the guest floors. The fourth floor is private and is not accessible to guests.
- The terrace is open to everyone staying in the house.
- There is a lift, and there are stairs.
- Parking is available on the ground floor for small to medium vehicles, scooters and bikes.
Rooms are arranged by enquiry. There is no instant booking and no pricing on this site.
Come and see whether it fits
A person reads what you send, and answers it themselves.