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Cosmo Granites P Ltd, is the product of three brothers D
N Chaudary, D H Sarath and D Venkatesh coming together
to do something different. They are pioneers in bringing in the
concept of 'shopping for natural stones in a showroom' in
Chennai. In fact, Cosmo is the only place where people can actually
shop for marbles and granites in a showroom atmosphere in Chennai.
Their client list reads like a who's who of corporate bigwigs in
Chennai with clients like EID Parry, L&T, Microsoft....
just to name a few.
 "In
Chennai granite was used mostly as a elevation material as it can
take a heavy beating. Slowly it started making an entry as
a flooring and counter top material in offices, homes, hotels and
other public places like theatres and so on. This is because
it is easy to maintain, doesn't wear out and gives a rich look.
Light coloured granites are more porous than dark coloured granites.
White granite contains tiny flecks of iron, which can pose a problem
with rusting. Both these types of granites are usually avoided
when used on exteriors or in wet areas", says D Venkatesh.
As far as the uses of marble or granite go, Venkatesh says
that marble is used mostly in homes as a flooring material and in
hotels, it is used in the rooms. Hotels usually use Italian
marble. This came about because the end result looks like
a 'carpet', without the allergens and dust that go with them.
Hotels are now looking for carpet free rooms. So it is either
wooden flooring or wooden flooring with marble or wooden flooring
with granite.
 When
asked about their sourcing point, Venkatesh said, "We source
from all over the world. We source granite from countries
like Norway, we source marble from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Egypt,
Morocco and now even China. In India we are just discovering
new varieties of marble. We have one of the best green marble
from Madhya Pradesh, which is on par with Italian marble.
It's coming up in a big way. In India we source granite from
Andhra Pradesh, earlier we used to source from Karnataka.
Now it is also quarried in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Orissa".
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Marble and Granite are basically floor materials.
Marble is usually a combination of different carbonate
materials and is composed primarily of calcium carbonate
or calcite. It is a metamorphic stone with a consistent
background and with veins of different colours.
It requires polishing every 4 to 5 years. Finishing
for marble flooring is usually done after it is laid
at the client's place, while granite is completely finished
before it is laid. At the most only the edges
can be polished at the site.
Granite is an igneous stone that is very consistent
in appearance and usually does not have any veins. Dense
and hard, it is perfect for heavy foot traffic, which
makes it the natural choice for lobbies and other high
traffic areas like staircases. Though it is resistant
to most chemicals, oil can permeate into it. It is ideal
for counter tops and bar tops. Granite can be finished
in many ways. It can be highly polished which will reflect
a great deal of light. It can be honed to avoid light
reflections, and made to be more slip-resistant. Or
it can be given a flamed or thermal finish, which is
achieved by running gas jets (flame) over the surface
of the stone.
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According to Venkatesh, when it comes to Indian marble there are
very few choices - it's white, white with grey, white with green
veins or white with some kind of dots, but Italian marble has an
exotic range of colours.
 Cosmo
Granites is one of the few retailers of natural stones who are also
quarry owners themselves. "I gamble on a block of marble.
The processing cost of marble and granite is very steep. First
you have to choose the block of stone to be quarried. Then
it has to be cut and transported to the factory, where it is cut
into smaller blocks. It takes about two and a half days to
three days to get one complete block of about 4m X 2m or 4m X 3m.
Transportation is a huge expense as the material in this case, stone,
is very heavy and the wastage is also more. The value of the
slab depends on the evenness and uniformity of the pattern.
The whole block of stone should be uniform. For example, Macarrana
marble is available for between Rs 500/- and Rs 1,500/- depending
on the size. If you get it in tiles it is very cheap, but
if you get it in big slabs it is more expensive. You don't
buy marble looking at the sample, you have to see the whole strip.
Commonly used varieties of marble in Chennai are Indo-Italian,
Marwad white, Udaipur green and honey green. In
granite it is black and ruby red, The price range for granite(in
tile form) in Chennai starts from Rs 45 per sq ft and is anywhere
between Rs 4,500/- to Rs 5,000/- per sq ft, for imported granite.",
says Venkatesh.
Chennai is way ahead of other cities, when it comes to choice of
natural stones. "We have a very good collection and choice
in Chennai. If you need any kind of variety there is no need
to go elsewhere. As far as availability of any Italian marble
is concerned, we are on par with any other city in India", says
Venkatesh.
There are quite a few hidden risk factors though. Transportation
is a huge risk, as there is the possibility of the stone getting
damaged or broken.
Address: Cosmo Granites P Ltd., 'Cosmo Square', No. 6,
Ranjith Road, Kotturpuram, Chennai 600 085.
Phone: 2447 2211, 2447 2558
Fax: 2447 0813
E-mail: cosmogrt@md3.vsnl.net.in
Website: www.cosmofloors.com
Author : Joseph Pradeep Raj R
Photographs : V Ganesan |
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