Hotel heiress Amruda Nair splits time between her Doha apartment and her family home in Mumbai. She takes Huzan Tata through the elegant interiors of her art-fi lled house as she talks about the rush of living in two countries.
We walk through the majestic gates of The Leela Mumbai, enjoying its expansive beauty as we proceed towards the main hotel building. But nothing prepares us for what lies beyond — hidden away behind the hotel parking lot is the bungalow where the Nairs live, dark green creepers trailing down the sides of the building. An equine sculpture greets us just before we step through the large wooden doors while large porcelain vases guard the entrance. The winding staircase, where an intricately woven red velvet carpet regally adorns the wall, leads to the first floor. Waiting for us here, in a black skirt and houndstooth jacket, is Amruda Nair, Leela heiress and presently joint managing director and chief executive officer of the Qatar-based Aiana Hotels and Resorts LLC, that’s set to launch its first property in India in the next quarter.
“My mother and I share a passion for art and a lot of the paintings and sculptures you see around are from our travels. That’s one thing that we’ve always had in common. She pretends to listen to my opinion when picking out these things, but it’s pretty much all her!” explains Nair about the acquisition of the beautiful artefacts surrounding us. We’re sitting in the living room, and while Nair elegantly poses for our camera, I spend my time looking around the space, where hues of yellow, gold and cream abound. I spot paintings by stalwarts like Gieve Patel and Nayanaa Kanodia, several East-Asian works from Japan and China, and a modernist sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi. The piles of books neatly arranged on glass tables under a gorgeous chandelier — from tomes on Mughal architecture, Raja Ravi Varma and Anjolie Ela Menon, to titles on travel, Indian culture and old Bombay — reveal that the family takes their passion for art and culture quite seriously.
Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin November 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin November 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
