Humble hookah a smokeless wonder

Parvesh Sharma & Mona in Chandigarh

You might like to flaunt it, if not love it. Its beauty lies in its metaphors spoken out loud at brotherly meetings, under-the-tree gatherings of rustic villagers, and it is laughed about for the gargling sound of its quintessence pot and its smoky, chimney-like wooden pipe. You got it right: it's the humble hookah. Now a no-no for its smoking hazards, it is home decor's favourite object, and vintage lovers' first choice. It is priced, at times, as high as Rs 15,000 apiece with lots of value additions such as gold plating, crystals and beads embellishments.

Contrast it with the rural must add-on. "All celebrations and even mourning are incomplete without hookah in Haryana. A marriage party at times is customarily obliged to take part in joint hookah sessions. On sad events such as death, too, grieving relatives seek solace in sharing the hookah," says Ram Mehar Kandela, a young leader of the Kandela Khap.

"Hookah smoking is more detrimental to health than even cigarette smoking. Sharing it leads to infectious diseases. We have seen many such cases," says Dr Rajesh Bhola, a government doctor posted in Jind (Haryana). 

However, for businessman Neetu Kanwaljit Singh and his wife Aman, a hookah came as a gift and has occupied a pride of place in their living room among other vintage beauties. "Tobacco is what everyone avoids, but that doesn't mean that humble hookah should be shown the door," says Singh. Their hookah collection includes the ones collected during their travels within India and abroad.

Nitish, a Ludhiana-based builder, did not have to do much running around for he found one at one of the paan parlours in his own city. The pale yellow sheesha with mud top gelled effortlessly with the bar, and it belongs there now.

Hookah sales are thriving in the e-market too, with Snapdeal, Amazon, Flipkart and others reporting a steady earning. The new buyer interest has brought in many names such as Basement Bazaar Black, Sarfaraaz (12 inch), Burj Blue (10 inch), Arsalan Oceanic Blue, Glass Pumpkin, Arsalan Blue Thread, Red Hookah, Arsalan Artistic, Arsalan Super Stylish, Khalil Mamoon, Nammor, Regal, Zahrah, Anahi Glass and many more.

"A stylish hookah can fetch us more than Rs 10,000," says Rahul, a seller from Delhi's Connaught Place. The costliest one is Khalil Mamoon with gold plating in over 50 percent of its parts, says Rahul, but refuses to divulge the price.

A trip to Dubai or Istanbul prompts many to pick one as a souvenir. "Old hookahs are hardly available. But fancy ones with silver and crystal trimmings, called sheesha, find favour with the aficionado," says Renu Khanna, architect and interior designer. While ideally, a trip to the Middle-East is the best bet to bring an exotic hookah home, there are options aplenty online too. If you are ready to shell out a few thousands, you can take a pick - a dainty butterfly, intricate carvings on the marble, shapes ala Eiffel Tower and you name the colour, it is there.

If you believe in touching, feeling your stuff before you spend on it, Delhi is the nearest with options galore from a few hundred to quite a few thousands in Connaught Place, Janpath and Huaz Khas Village. Then there are various havelis on Chandigarh-Delhi highway selling some interesting stuff and it isn't going to pinch your pocket much either.