Mumbai has its rich array of the wealthy, or should I say, the super-wealthy before whom almost everyone else would be a creatures fit to remain near the sty. They have their mansions, huge apartments, week-end getaways, a few well fitted expensive cars, and even aircraft or helicopters that is run perhaps on their company fuel.
But this Mukesh Ambani stands out though being the country's richest and one amongst the world's rich, he needn't be as flashy as his new home, Antilla built in Mumbai tony Altmount Road. It towers to an height of 60-storeys but would only have 27 floors and is reputed to cost either US$ 1 bn or a bit more. A bit, for a man like M Ambani being quite some, I should imagine.
Wonder in what category of architecture that building falls but from newspaper accounts, and accompanying pictures, it sticks like a rich sore thumb. It betrays the slick tastes of a neo-rich and not the refinement of money that has come down to and added upon by the second generation. It looks grotesque, like building blocks of varying dimensions stacked one-upon-another by a child who had the sense enough to make sure that one side were all well-aligned.
Indian media - this is my pet peeve always - has reported this buildings with awe but never with disapproval and thought that the awe would forever remain. But suddenly, when New York Times put out a story, the Indian Express carried it with the headline Soaring above poverty on November 6, 2010. Then I discovered that the Times of India had the same piece on October 29 with a sightly different headline. That was from the syndicated set of stories put out by the New York Times.
The point is not about the lag between the Times and the Express. But the point is that they printed it at all for the Ambanis know how to ensure controlled exposure about themselves on any aspect in the media. The way the NYTimes packaged it is interesting - it does not think much of the building, the idea behind it and the amount spent on it - critical, quite tongue-in-cheek too.
It is worth a read. Here is the link:
