MEMORIES OF A FUTURE

Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group, believes in the art of looking back to help him better the lives of generations to come

- JAYASHREE KINI MENDES

You cannot build a future or understand the present if you are ignorant of your past. In order to better discern the world, knowledge of history and humanities aids in comprehending the events around us while enabling to appreciate current happenings. Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group, subscribes to this thought. In fact, he champions it.

Neotia belongs to a rare breed of developers, who has not confined himself to residential or commercial developments alone. The Kolkata resident is, perhaps, the only developer in the country to have ventured into hospitality (hotels & resorts, country homes, clubs, smart dine, QSR, and banquets), education (university, institutes), and healthcare (woman and child care, multi-specialty, fertility, diagnostics, and educational). And not just one solitary project in each of these ventures, but many. Then there is the Incubation centre too where entrepreneurs are groomed and encouraged with mentorship, funding, access to its businesses, and co-working space. From luxury bungalows, five-star hotels, malls and super-specialty hospitals, Neotia has created several architectural landmarks in Bengal, and today in other cities in other states too.

The youngest Padma Shri recipient is also a proponent of the arts in all its forms, which is evident in the edifices he builds. He says, “Design comes naturally considering my growing up years where each member of my family has been an art aficionado and a personality. A complementary absorption of various influences that kicked in strongly when I turned developer.”

VINTAGE IS THE NEW VANGUARD