JAY MEHTA WELCOMES US INTO HIS ANCESTRAL HOME IN PORBANDAR, GUJARAT, BUILT IN THE 1920S

An elegant decorative right-facing swastika symbol adorns the soaring cupola of a stately art deco home in the coastal city of Porbandar.

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Across the waters of the Arabian Sea that lap the beaches of the city and stretch to the rich multicultural tapestry of East Africa, Sheth Nanji Kalidas Mehta's name looms large. An industrialist and philanthropist widely admired and respected, not many know that Nanjibhai spent his boyhood in a loving home and the plentiful lands of coastal Saurashtra, Gujarat. As he gazed upon its blue expanse, gathered seashells and admired ships with their white sails unfurled on the horizon, he felt an inexplicable call of the sea. When he raced the waves with his childhood friends, he knew, somehow, that his destiny was entwined with the sea.

At barely 13, the sea finally summoned Nanjibhai and he set sail for Africa in 1900 from the port town of Porbandar. Working jobs in Madagascar, Kenya and Uganda in East Africa, the young man worked hard and made a name for himself seeking adventure and excelling in enterprise. A quarter century and many travails later, he returned to his homeland—now a wealthy and successful businessman, desirous to give back to the land of his birth but, more importantly, to build a home for himself.