Just how does one describe this store? Refreshing? Quaint? Unusual? Or just plain charming? Quite honestly, this shop defies description, and an attempt to personify it will only do it injustice. All one can say is that you are sure to get some positive vibes once inside "Either or." The spirited group which runs the place prefers to call it a collective initiated by family and friends. "No place for hierarchy here. It's entirely a team effort and it's not fair to single out any one person for credit," they quip. This eclectic team consist of a group of friends, some who attended a few years of Art and design school, a couple of graduates, a self-taught photographer and even a USA-based bio-technologist. Diverse backgrounds perhaps, but shared beliefs. The friends believe in having fun, 'celebrating choices' and being sensitive and responsive to issues around them.

Either or was set up in the city in January 1999. One could either check out the stuff displayed in the section as you enter or take the flight of stairs to view the exhibits upstairs. Essentially into natural stuff, the store has an entire section devoted to natural dyed garments. Tops, shirts, long dresses, pants, sarongs,
T shirts -- you will find them all stacked away on wooden shelves. The entire shop is choc-a-block with amazing artifacts artistically strewn all over the storer. One can pick up stuff for as little as five bucks or as much as five grand. One can find interesting accessories in wood and stone, semi precious jewelry, unusual wooden toys, jute bags, shopping bags, aprons, 'jholas', 'batwas', metal artifacts, photo frames, paper mache items and a variety of eye catching objects.

Every item, the smallest included, has earned its space as the young people behind the store are convinced it has some utility value for the customer and is worth every paise it is sold for. Interestingly, there is a small Literature section. One can come across interesting books not easily found elsewhere, like books on health, picture books, regional language literature, children's books, magazines related to women's issues like Manushi and Kali for Women. In fact, any interesting literature that they have come across that struck a chord with them has found its way to the books corner. This desire to interact and share manifests itself in several endearing ways. It could be their close interactions with craftsmen, helping them evolve a traditional art to suit contemporary times, or it could just be their desire to make their shop accessible to as many people as possible.
They hate the idea of slotting their store and have people ascribe a particular image to it. People should be able to walk in freely without the slightest hesitation.
"What's the point of converting the converted?" they reason. Getting the most unlikely people to appreciate their products gives them a major high.
And a visit to Either Or is sure to give customers a high - spiritually, emotionally and materially.

- Shabari Shetty