Arun Jatia on leaving behind his home, adjacent to the city's famed Bhabha House
In a cramped city like Mumbai, a sprawling old-world haven is up for grabs -Jatia House in Malabar Hill, the family home of the Pudumjee Industries promoters.
Spread over 3,000 square metres, with a carpet size of 30,000 square feet, Jatia House is twice the size of its famous neighbour, Mehrangir, more popularly known as Bhabha House.Last year, Bhabha House was sold for `372 crore. At twice the size, Jatia House may well be sold for twice that price.
Real estate agents JLL are handling the sale mandate exclusively. Bids will be accepted till August 31 and the auction will take place on September 7. The decision to sell has been taken with an eye on the future. The current occupants of the house are brothers, Arun and Shyam Jatia, sons of the Pudumjee patriarch M P Jatia, and their respective families. Shyam's three daughters are married and have moved out to their respective homes. Arun has two daughters and a son.Once the daughters are married and move out, it will be a small household. “I was around eight or nine years-old when I first moved into this house. Back then, it was my parents, my five siblings and me. But in time, my sisters got married. One of my brothers moved out and the number of family members in the house kept reducing,“ says Jatia. “Eventually it will be just my son and me.We don't need such a huge space. I'll feel more comfortable in an apartment, rather than a landed property,“ he adds. Also, a staff of 35 to run a household for two may be quite impractical in time.
Looking back
Jatia house has been home to the family for over 40 years. Since 19 8 0, Jatia moved around a fair bit, first to the US for studies and then to Singapore for business. But Jatia House was always home.
“I've learnt to stay away from the family house. But when you are moving out of the nest, there are bound to be emotional implications,“ s ays Jat i a , “O ne mu s t always accept change.“
He lo ok s b ack on h i s time at Jatia House and its memories fondly. Moving into the bungalow was a dream come true for Jatia's father. The family moved to India from Myanmar in 1964, after the political coup in the country and bought Jatia House in 1971.
On his neighbouring house, Mehrangir
Despite living for a long time next to Bhabha House (Mehrangir) Jatia was in the dark about his neighbours. “Actually, until that bungalow went for sale, I didn't even know it existed. I do not think that many people in my neighbourhood know that Jatia House exists,“ he says. “My father used to always live in a bungalow (in Myanmar). So he was yearning to move into a bungalow, even when he came to India,“ he reminisces. The house also proved lucky for the family, he believes. They started Pudumjee Paper Mills almost immediately after moving in.
For Jatia, the house was filled with celebration and parties that his father loved throwing. Like the time Jatia senior and a friend of his realised they'd been friends for 50 years and decided to throw a party to toast the friendship. The house has even hosted weddings -first for two of his sisters and then a niece -accommodating over 600-800 guests.
The little things to miss
Jatia accepts that a house such as this will be difficult to find today. Moving into an apartment, after being a lifelong bungalow resident, he will miss the serenity, the quiet, the greens and the morning sea views he enjoys from his bedroom. Or that occasional glass of wine or a puff of the cigar in one of his favourite spots in the house, the library.
“When you have a bungalow, you don't lock your cars. You just open the main gate, open your car and drive off.With an apartment, you must put your car in the parking lot,“ Jatia says.
He hopes that the bungalow's new buyers will enjoy it as much as his family and he have. “We hope that whoever buys this house, uses it as one, rather than redevelop it. The kind of architecture of the house, with its Burma teak wood paneling, is very difficult to create today. Built in 1928, the house has a long history,“ he says.
The family will move out by next week and is in the process of shipping out its furniture. But it has made time between all the shifting to celebrate the house. The house was entrusted to the sons and daughters, nieces and nephews for a weekend of fun. There was also a photo shoot of the family and the house to frame the memories.As for the proceeds of the sale, they'll be divided between the family. For his share, Jatia says, “I'll buy another house for starters and then save some.“
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