By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Apr 2 (IANS): The ‘King of Bull Market Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a self-made multi-billionaire, is currently busy constructing a new house for his family at one of the poshest celeb addresses on the planet, Malabar Hill, in south Mumbai, flanked by the Arabian Sea on three sides.
Jhunjhunwala, 62, will become a second prominent mega-bucks personality to own a massive bungalow in the area that reputedly harbours the maximum number of millionaires per square metre in the country.
The friendly richie-rich neighbourhood comprises the Maharashtra Governor, Chief Minister, Ministers, the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, judges, diplomats, several top Indian and international businessmen, industrialists, top central and state government officials and a few from the glam world, too.
According to official sources, besides Jhunjhunwala, at least four other big names, including a couple of nouveau riche Unicorn start-up owners, are also planning to move into their own luxurious private bungalows in the vicinity soon.
Finding a breathing or building space is hard to come by in some areas like Malabar Hill, where each square foot of land is nearly double the rate of a tola (10 gm) of gold.
When contacted by IANS, Jhunjhunwala humbly and politely said on his upcoming nest of grandeur: "I don't wish to comment."
Almost a decade ago, Jhunjhunwala and his wife Rekha zeroed in on a potential site, the Ridgeway Apartments with just some dozen-odd exclusive flats, and brought it in two stages from its owners, the HSBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank at a cost of around Rs 371 crore.
From 2017, after the deals were sealed, the Jhunjhunwalas set about creating their dream home, which will upto a 13-storeyed super-luxury palatial home, offering a generous sea-view from almost at least three sides.
Presently, the Jhunjhunwala family lives in a comfy duplex flat, but in around a year or so, is likely to do the 'griha-pravesh' (house warming) in their swank new multi-storeyed bungalow at B G. Kher Marg.
Construction is on at a furious pace with the blue-green scaffolds acting as a shroud to conceal what is coming up -- and nobody authoritatively claims knowledge of 'parde ke peeche kya hai' (what's behind the curtains?).
After razing the existing flats on the tiny plot, the Jhunjhunwalas are now building a 57-metre tall building, spread over 70,000 sq.feet, reeking with top luxuries to rival any others of their class and ilk anywhere.
As per the building plans cleared by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the top 12th floor shall be the master bedroom and lair of the King of Bull Market and his queen, with a large attached bath, and the floor below will have well-appointed bedrooms for their four children.
There will be at least another 4 huge guest bedrooms for close family and kin, or lucky visitors, on the 4th floor, with large terraces, balconies in each bedroom and boasting of all the amenities that ordinary folks can only dream of.
The lower third, second and first floors would comprise several smaller rooms, baths, storage areas, staff quarters, a 3-storey lobby with a massive foyer and a mini-football court on the ground floor and more than half-dozen parking slots for the family's fleet of vehicles.
Set to soar in the corporate skies with his upcoming airline, Akasa Air, the Jhunjhunwalas' 'mini-hangar' home will comprise a banquet hall on one floor for small to medium parties or business get-togethers, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a small home-theatre, a full-fledged professional kitchen, outdoor seating spaces, a mini-garden, et al.
A local resident said with many old-time, less-affluent residents slowly getting edged out out to the northern parts of the city like Worli or suburbs like Bandra, Andheri, the Malabar Hill – spread across barely 3 sq.kms and its surroundings of another 4 sq.kms is now becoming the haunt of only the ultra-rich folks.
Featuring among the world's Top 10 most expensive residential enclaves, some of the bigwigs living here include the Ambanis, Birlas, Godrejs, Ruias, Shapoorji-Pallonjis, the Petits, several diamantaires and the movers-shakers of high-society, and landmarks like the Banganga Tank and Temple, the Jinnah House, the Hanging Gardens, several other temples, etc, dotting the elite landscape.