Shop Talk

IN VARANASI, one of the holiest cities in India, Paul Taylor, manager of Wong Singh Jones, was as surprised as anyone to discover a chanting Hindu alarm clock. He is not surprised at how well the clocks have sold in his Portobello Road interiors and accessories shop. "They were not made as a gimmick," he explains. He stocks four designs, each representing a different deity and costing pounds 29.90.

Many of the shop's funky goods are discovered in this way, as all the staff have travelled around India. Taylor's idea is to "get something different across, futuristic with a traditional influence".

For jazzing up your home shrine, Wong Singh Jones stocks nodding Buddhas complete with sunglasses and radios for pounds 11.90. If your karma needs no adjustment, you might settle for a sunflower wall display for pounds 29.90. It spins and flashes to music when you walk past.

Wong Singh Jones is at 253 Portobello Road, west London (0171-792 2001)