The word Kali is the feminine form of the Sanskrit word Kala , which means time. It also means black. The Hindu Goddess Kali has therefore been understood as the goddess of time. She is also been understood as ‘she who is black', ‘she who is the mother of time', ‘she who devours time' and ‘she who is black time'.

Kali is depicted as having four arms and hands. The left arms hold a sword and a severed head, and the right are held in a blessing pose. She wears a garland of 51 heads, and is shown as being very dark. She is accompanied by serpents and a jackal, and is portrayed as standing over a prostrating Lord Shiva , with her tongue protruding.

Hindu mythology says that there was a battle between the demons and gods. The gods were losing, so they appealed to Lord Shiva. However, he was lost in meditation, and so the gods turned to his consort Parvati, who is also known as the Goddess Durga. Durga took the form of the Hindu goddess Kali to fight the demons. Hindu mythology holds that after Kali destroyed all the demons in battle, she set out on a fearsome rampage, killing anyone who crossed her path, and adorning herself with her victims' heads and limbs, as she danced a terrific dance of vistory. Lord Shiva requested her to desist, but she did not pay any heed. He then lay down like a corpse, to absorb the shock of her dance into himself. When the Hindu Goddess Kali, in dance, stepped on her husband, she realized her mistake. And she stuck out her tongue in shame.

This interpretation, however, is not accepted by all, and there is an alternative Tantric interpretation as well.

The Hindu goddess Kali's appearance is considered fearsome and terrible. However, she is believed to be the kindest of all the Hindu goddesses. Her terrible form is interpreted as her power to protect. It is only in the ignorant, that she creates fear.

Gone are the days of large cumbersome furniture that was ornate and elaborate. Modern furniture is minimalist, yet elegant; understated, yet attractive. The no-fuss modern furniture designs are what appeal to an increasingly large section of today's interior decorators.

Contemporary furniture emphasizes the marriage of comfort and style. As opposed to most traditional furniture that concentrates mainly on looks, furniture today is designed keeping several factors in mind: the shape of the human body, health issues, decreasing floor space, the need for storage space, comfort, in addition to aesthetic appeal. Modern furniture, then, is compact furniture; it is safe furniture that is stylish while being practical.

Such elegant lifestyle furniture includes chairs that are designed to match the curves of the human body, without compromising on health issues. They have backs that provide adequate support, and may have armrests and leg rests that are comfortable and flexible. There are added features such as levers to adjust height, recline the back etc. Indeed, one of the distinguishing features of a lot of contemporary furniture is that it is not rigid.

In design, though simple, modern furniture often has elaborate mechanical features. The need to optimize on space has led to the creation of collapsible furniture. This also lends the added advantage of portability. Portable collapsible tables, chairs, beds and other furniture items are convenient, practical and space efficient. This leads to another observation: for furniture to be easily transportable, it must be light. Portable furniture is then, lightweight furniture. Another way of making maximum use of space is to combine furniture items. It is not surprising then, that, modern furniture includes classroom chairs with an attached desk, trundle beds, sofa-cum-beds, bedside tables that double up as self-defense weapons, and other items. To improve portability, modern home décor furniture often has wheels and rollers. In most contemporary homes, a bed with wheels, or a table or chair with wheels, or even a cabinet with wheels is not an uncommon sight.

Modern furniture designers have experimented with various materials, shapes, colors and designs. Modern Indian furniture may be made of iron (wrought iron furniture is a very popular choice), metal, wood , cane, plastic, leather (link to article: Leather Furniture ), glass.

Home furnishing stores in India have a very large variety of both traditional as well as modern Indian furniture. A unique feature of contemporary Indian furniture is that it exudes the glory of the traditional designs of furniture from India , but in a subdued and more practical manner that is a characteristic of furniture today. The Indian furniture stores sell items of

modern drawing room furniture
contemporary dining room furniture
modern bedroom furniture
modern bathroom furniture
modern outdoor furniture
modern kitchen furniture

Under these heads, these modern furniture stores in India sell modern tables, contemporary chairs, beds, mattresses like the water bed mattress, swings, stools, dressers, mirrors, divans and other items.
Today, online contemporary furniture stores have also become very popular.