‘The
House of MG’ is a boutique heritage hotel in Ahmedabad. This stately
property, built in 1924 as a home for a wealthy textile magnate, has been
tastefully restored to retain its old-world charm but with all the amenities
and comforts of a world-class business hotel. More
Abhay
Mangaldas blogs
Follow
Abhay Mangaldas on twitter
Abhay
Mangaldas on Design Residency at The
House of MG
Abhay
Mangaldas 'My Story session at EDI Ahmedabad
on 29-11-2010
1.
Who
am I?
November 25, 2009
For Times of India
A relevant question at any time but
in context of heritage, particularly
now, as The World Heritage Week has
just concluded. There is no denying
that India's identity lies in its
diversity but I am a Gujarati living
in Ahmedabad - unless I discover where
I come from, how will I give direction
to where I want to go?
My work revolves around this premise.
The House of MG gives me the opportunity
to dwell into what it means to be
a Gujarati in 360 degree manner to
showcase a contemporary lifestyle
that is rooted in tradition. 'Made
in Ahmedabad and proud to be Gujarati'
has, in fact, become our brand identity.
Nano may have come to Sanand, but
our heritage never left the Walled
city. Many expeditions to its interior
over the years, both on my Enfield
and on bicycle ( as well as guidance
from my friend Debashish Nayak) led
me to chance upon a neglected jem
(one amongst many, tha the old city
is scattered with) of architecture
and craftsmanship in late 1996. I
had the opportunity to reinterpret
it (as well as rename it!) and present
Mangaldas ni Haveli as a café
and craft-centre in August this year.
During this time, we also documented
the traditional crafts of Ahmedabad
(http://www.houseofmg.com/ahmedabad-crafts.htm)
for our craft initiative and launch
D-Tours - An audio Guided Heritage
Walk from the House of MG to what
is now Mangaldas ni Haveli.
The Heritage Night walk launched
on 23rd November is designed to be
a 20/20 of heritage walks - its short,
exciting and in streetlight! In course
of one evening, you get a complete
synopsis of old Ahmedabad - Spectacular
traditional architecture, fine local
cuisine, display of paramparic hand-crafted
products and a post dinner stroll
(merely 700 meters) past the old city
highlights that ends with music program!
I like to think that I'm playing
a small role in unraveling Ahmedabad
to Ahmedabadis as I unravel my roots
to myself.
2.
My
experience with the Ahmedabad Police.
On March 1, 2008, in broad daylight,
a man and his son, (who are a Deputy
Municipal Commissioner's brother and
nephew), were trying to trespass on
my property. They assaulted me with
a stick and a cricket bat (I was lucky
to escape serious injury) when I stopped
them. After that, in front of a crowd
that had gathered, they resorted stoning
my building.
When the police took them away, they
filed a complaint against me for assaulting
them!
This incident occurred in front of at
least five security staff and over fifty
eyewitnesses. The 'weapons' were also
recovered. Yet the police arrested me.
'Its routine', they said.
I had met both the Director General
of Police and the Commissioner of Police
just days before this incident, asking
for their help in dealing with this
man as he was threatening and intimidating
our security staff. The Senior Police
Inspector of the area had visited a
couple of times and had warned this
person to behave himself.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police of
the area personally investigated the
matter and even got a confession from
one of the assailants. However, in the
vakalat nama, there was no mention of
this inquiry and key facts of the case
were omitted.
Within days, different departments,
directly or indirectly connected with
the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation,
raided my premises under different pretexts.
My licensed takeaway food vans were
impounded without explanation and I
ran pillar to post, on one hand to get
police protection and on the other,
to get justice from AMC. I even met
the DMC, to understand his brother's
demands (he wants an obscene amount
of money to clear an old licensing dispute
that is pending in court). Pay up or
suffer, as the court will take its time.
In the past eight months, I have spoken
to several police officers in the highest
quarters. They have yet to follow up
on any of their assurances. I am also
obliged to make rounds of the courts
to clear my name. All this while, my
assailants go about with complete impunity,
continuing their terror tactics of abuse
and intimidation. I am called a Muslim
hater, threatened communal riots and
my security staff still get threats
of being 'chopped and burned'.
I have written to the police about this.
Spoken to all who matter. Nothing has
happened. Perhaps they are waiting for
him to attack me again.
The moral of the story - don't live
under the illusion that because a man
is in uniform, he will guard you. Do
what you can to secure yourself and
always be prepared. When the time comes,
only that (and destiny) can save you.
-The author is an entrepreneur who lives
and works in Ahmedabad.
3.
Recycled Heritage - Mangaldas
ni Haveli.
When I completed the renovation and
reuse of The House of MG from a residential
mansion to a boutique hotel in 1996,
I was looking to scale up. It was
clear that heritage had a USP and
as traditional architecture is intrinsically
environment friendly, I found them
meaningful to work with. Besides,
most heritage properties are superbly
adaptable to different uses. For me,
this makes them unbeatable 360-degree
design (as well as a business) opportunity.
On one hand, I was refusing customers
at the twelve- room House of MG and
though I was adding thirty more rooms
in the remaining half of the mansion
that I had recently acquired from
cousins, I could easily do with more
rooms. On the other hand, spectacular
havelis lay scattered and abandoned
all around, with no takers. I sensed
an opportunity to leverage on what
I had already started.
Many of these havelis are barely
10 minutes away from the main hotel.
Guests can check in at the 'hub' hotel
and be transported by shuttle to their
rooms in 'spoke' properties. The access
to local craftsmen in this area can
also feed my parallel retail operation
of handcrafted designed products.
Mangaldas ni Haveli, with its café
and craft centre shop is the first
property to be completed. Though over
200 years old, it now has every modern
amenity that is needed. In the pipeline
are haveli hotels, shops and design
studios in the same area.
There is no reason why other booming
tier two cities cannot adopt this
model and infuse a new and throbbing
energy in their historical precincts.
Personal Profile:
Born and raised in Ahmedabad, Abhay
returned to his roots after completing
Master's in Mass Communication (with
a major in Computer Graphics and animation)
from Boston University and later spending
eight years in different ventures
in Mumbai. It was providence that
in a family separation, the company
that he heads purchased his great-grand
father's mansion and he has since
been emersed in restoration and reuse.
He wears the hats of both creative
head and operations head for his hotel,
restaurants and retail ventures. He
lives alone with his four boxer dogs
in an old family home. An adrenaline
junkie, he finds his fix in adventure
sport.
4.
Modern
Times - a series of articles for The
Times of India by Abhay Mangaldas between
2000-2003.
. more...
Can the presidential form of government
clean up the muck in India politics?
Members of the Jury, my fellow contestant,
ladies and gentlemen. My name is Abhay
Mangaldas.
First, I'd like to thank the Times
of India for taking this initiative
and giving me this platform…
The subject today..
"Can a Presidential form
of government clear the muck in Indian
politics?"
I have just three minutes so I will
jump right into it.
On the outset, the Presidential model
has some salient features.
Let me quickly list those that I
feel are the important ones…
and do excuse me if it sounds a bit
technical.
One : To start with, voters play
a role in selection of candidates
… just like what we are doing
in this contest. This ensures that
only the deserving get a ticket and
not a goon with a connection.
Two : Voters also decide who leads
the government. Its akin to our choosing
the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister
and not leaving it to our representatives.
This would take care of all the horse-trading
that goes on in our system.
Three : The elected leaders have
a predefined term in office. This
can provide stability and allow them
to focus on their job, something our
leaders can rarely do.
Four : The voter representation in
government is proportional to the
votes won … and not on the constituencies
won. This ensures that the majority
always carries a stronger voice, unlike
what we have in India.
So, to sum this first bit up, I think
we would do well to adopt these features
in our political system and perhaps
come up with a hybrid model that combines
the best of both the Presidential
and the Parliamentarian systems.
But will just electoral reforms clear
the muck?
No.
Muck exists in all politics, regardless
of the system. It has become the nature
of the beast.
Our disappointment with politicians
and public servants at large has to
do with our perception of what we
assume motivates people to enter public
service.
We expect them all to be Gandhiwadees
who make this choice for the love
of the motherland. We forget that
they breathe the same air as you and
me…. they have a family to feed
and aspirations to meet.
Think about it…
Would you want to be a servant…
a public one at that?
Would you want a job that pays peanuts
and provides no job security?
Its time we drop this hypocrisy.
Politics and public service come
with huge responsibilities and awesome
challenges… they should be an
attractive career option for any bright
person if they had commiserate salary
packages, performance incentives,
merit based promotions… just
as in private enterprise…
The government can actually become
a professionally run organization….
As it should be.
In conclusion, not only do we need
electoral reforms …. And we can
look to the Presidential system for
some of them… but we also need
to review and restructure the compensation
packages and human resource management
within the government.
I believe that only do we have a
good chance to get rid of the muck.
Thank you.
6.
Affluence
and empathy are not inversely proportional.
Jawaharlal Nehru was affluent and so
was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. This
perhaps hightened their sense of empathy
towards the poor in India and strengthened
their resolve to work towards their
upliftment.
Maybe there is also a higher probability
that affluent people join politics
with the right motivations. In my
case, my relative affluence has allowed
me an excellent education and the
option to choose any field of work.
My choice of career, of trying to
revitalise the heritage of the old
city of Ahmedabad, was possible only
because I enjoyed financial security.
If I get a broader platform through
Lead India, I can expand my scope
of rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure
and disappearing heritage of not only
the historic old city of Ahmedabad
but of other cities as well and in
the process, make a small contribution
to the lower middle class and poor
people who reside in them.
7.
Affluence
and empathy are not inversely proportional.
Jawaharlal Nehru was affluent and so
was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. This
perhaps hightened their sense of empathy
towards the poor in India and strengthened
their resolve to work towards their
upliftment.
Maybe there is also a higher probability
that affluent people join politics
with the right motivations. In my
case, my relative affluence has allowed
me an excellent education and the
option to choose any field of work.
My choice of career, of trying to
revitalise the heritage of the old
city of Ahmedabad, was possible only
because I enjoyed financial security.
If I get a broader platform through
Lead India, I can expand my scope
of rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure
and disappearing heritage of not only
the historic old city of Ahmedabad
but of other cities as well and in
the process, make a small contribution
to the lower middle class and poor
people who reside in them.
8.
For Lead India
September 30, 2007
Prioritise the three most important
challenges for the country and how
you would tackle them.
The issues are all interlinked
1. Poor infrastructure and unequal
opportunities that results in inequitable
distribution of wealth.
2. Ineffective enforcement of the
law and order.
3. Lack of basic school education
that can instill an awareness and
pride amongst youth in our ancient
and rich heritage, diverse cultural
identity and spiritual core.
I am convinced that most of our learned
political leaders are well aware of
these issues. Unfortunately, our electoral
system has inherent flaws that make
survival in politics an unpredictable
and insecure numbers game that diverts
their attention from issues of governance.
I believe that electoral reform can
become the primary driver in resolving
this dilemma. Bestowed with authority,
I would push for reform that ensures
that both the Chief Minister and the
Prime Minister are
a. The popular choice of the electorate
themselves and not their representatives.
b. Their jobs are secure for the given
term, whereby they can focus on fulfilling
their promises and not worry about
losing their seat midway or be driven
to compromise to appease the destabilising
forces.
I am confident that the problems
we face are primarily the outcome
of our political and electoral system
and not due to our politicians.
My view on
I) Reservation
I believe in equal opportunity.
If Reservation is treated like a golfer's
handicap (as you improve your game,
your handicap goes down), it can be
a useful tool to level the score.
Reservation is necessary for sections
of society that have been discriminated
against or have not enjoyed the s
