Harshavardhan Neotia, the affable chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, who always has a smile on his face and an easy wit about him, was the perfect host, along with IHCL, at a recent weekend retreat at Taj Guras Kutir Resort & Spa, Sikkim, a picturesque property being run as an association between IHCL and Ambuja Neotia Group. Taj Guras Kutir, which combines the creativity of architect Channa Daswatte and Ambrish Arora of Studio Lotus (‘architectural designer’), has been treating guests to the majestic view of the Kanchenjunga for the past six months. t2 thoroughly enjoyed moments of solitude and this candid conversation with Harsh on his travel, homes, future projects and hideaways!
This property must hold a lot of emotions for you considering it took such a long time to build....
When I saw this place for the first time, it was a sight to behold. I decided then and there that we should go ahead with the project, particularly because the gentleman who owned this property was happy to give it, but, he also probably didn’t realise that this is a cumbersome process. It took a lot of time to get the permissions... that’s really what set it off. We had no experience building up on the hills. The slope is very steep, almost like a cliff. This was the most vantage location. There were areas which were less steep, but they didn’t have this kind of a direct view of the Kanchenjunga. So, we had to build on this, and that took a long time to figure out. We were outsiders so that was more challenging.
Covid came as a rude blow and for almost a year-and-a-half there was nothing happening. This was a zero-tolerance state and they didn’t want any outsiders to come in that period. We started at the end of 2021 and took two years to finish it. Nevertheless, the good news is we are here and it is done. We opened in October 2023.
Helicopter connectivity has made it much simpler. There is a railway line to Rangpo which, I think, is going to be commissioned by next year. Siliguri to Rangpo is a 40-minute train ride and from Rangpo to here would be hardly one hour and 15 minutes. It cuts down on time and fatigue.
What are the local elements in the design?
Nothing specific, (but) some of the photographs are from north Sikkim and some of the artefacts are all Sikimese. There is a sloping wall which is a typical Bhutia hill design. So, it’s a stylised version of elements taken from here to give it that sense that you belong here, but obviously, it’s a modern hotel and I don’t think anyone builds a house of this size, so it has that institutional sort of scale. In the rooms, we have Thangka art and photographs of faces and people and for the cushions, we have taken motifs and elements which are from the weaves of the textiles here.
The vibe is extremely homely and cosy...
That is, I think, for all the kutirs we have a design sensibility to give it a lived-in look. There is a muted palette. It is a deliberate design because I have always believed that particularly in resort locations like these, everyone should focus on the outside.... Our lighting is outwardly focused by day and everything looks out, almost maximising your views. There is not a single room that you don’t see the mountains from. Those are the things that make the design a little difficult but those are the things that make it special.
All our kutirs are built with this ethos that let there not be distractions inside, but yes, you should feel luxury.
How often are you here?
I came quite a lot in the runup to the completion, maybe once in three to four months. Life has become simpler with technology. So, once a week, we’d have video calls. Of course, there is no substitute for visiting. Chia Kutir, I have visited maybe 100 times. Here I have been five-10 times. This is the first time I have visited after the opening.
You connect with nature...
Like how! Emotionally, very deeply and more with the mountain than the sea.
In all your properties, you have integrated the outside and the inside...
It’s very important. When we bid for the land where Taal Kutir sits now, there was that natural lake and the FSI (Floor Space Index) available there is so low because it’s in Eco Park. The minimum reserve price was very high. I could have got cheaper land in New Town, but in another place and we had properties there, but when I saw that and I saw the lake, I decided the hotel had to be there because if someone steps out of his room, he must be able to have a cup of tea and enjoy this beautiful lake. Again in Taal Kutir every single room has a view of the lake.
The most interesting part is it’s pin-drop silent. In Calcutta, you sit on the balcony, almost anywhere and there is so much noise. Taal Kutir is just half a kilometre away from the main road and because you are off the main road, you can hear the sound of the swimming pool water flowing into the drain, it is so silent. It was a motivation for me to acquire that property. I can’t create that silence and the lake also happened to be there. My job was how to make it such that you focus on that. You can be in the city and have a resort kind of feel.
Even if you see Raajkutir, which has no view and is inward-looking. It has been done in a way to celebrate the zamindari life and because it is a little up and down because of the municipal waste which we sit on. In a sense it was also a bit of an urban renewal project because such a land would be fallow and wasted... we put it to use. There is also that sense of discovery... how in a city like Calcutta which is on the plains, we don’t have that scape. So, nature again becomes an important element there, but in a different way.
Being a brick-and-mortar person, there’s also a side to you who loves poetry. Does it lend to your professional life in any way?
On the real estate side there are a lot of limitations. It is relatively difficult, but we try. In Utalika, we have tried to bring in a lot of nature and a lot of creative scope has been used there because we also had that lake in between. When we were buying the property my colleagues came back and said there was a waterbody which would make the design inefficient. When I saw it, I said this is the one we have to buy! Every property has a playground. Let people have this. Today, it is a very vibrant space.
Which is your hideaway?
I don’t have a hideaway. My hideaway is my home in Queens Park (Ballygunge).
But is there a place where you go when you don’t want anybody to reach you or that day never comes?
(Laughs) No, that day never comes! I just love what I do. I don’t feel like taking a break. I get very restless during a break. My dear wife (Madhu Neotia) and kids, we have an annual holiday when we go for about seven-10 days, usually abroad, and for the first two-three days, I am very happy. From the third day, I am like, kab chalna hai and they would be like, but you’ve just come, where do you want to go? I am like, home and back to my work.
I don’t think I find my work stressful at all. I love it! For the sake of my colleagues, I don’t bother them on a Sunday! (Laughs) I do have another interest which is reading.
But yes, if you are asking me about a hideaway, I am making a small house which is not ready yet, in a place called Kalicharanpur, which is next to Raichak. It’s a four-bedroom house. I built a small space for myself in Ganga Kutir, but my folks, nobody went there and whenever I went there, I was surrounded by my colleagues! So, it never worked.
The collaboration with IHCL has been a fruitful one...
In the last six months, I must say to the credit of Taj, I have had to literally do nothing. The finer details of what kind of food, service... we do discuss a lot. I want to share with them the philosophy that I designed the place with, so that their service philosophy dovetails with that, but that’s on a Zoom call or a phone call or sometimes in a meeting. I don’t have to stand there and be there, which is huge because it enables me to concentrate more time in building the new projects.
How are homes changing and is there any difference in how people are travelling now?
In travel, there are three distinct changes. There is a lot more willingness to explore India, which is a very important shift. And secondly, they are willing to pay for luxury. Earlier, there was resistance to pay that much money. We are still half of what it costs in an equivalent property in Europe or some other place. It used to be one-fourth... which is at least important because otherwise the liability would be hugely compromised.
For homes, one of the things we found is that people want bigger homes and work-from-home or Zoom-from-home is such that you need private spaces. I shared a room with one of my sisters till Class VIII or IX. There was one long desk with two chairs and we used to study there, but today you can’t think of any child above the age of six willing to share a room with anyone....
An exponential increase in square footage has happened. It is very difficult to sell a two-bedroom apartment. Ideally, people want three even if it’s a nuclear family.
What else is in the pipeline?
I don’t know in what sequence it will happen... but we have a property in the Sunderbans, one in Ghum, one in Lataguri, a property in Santiniketan, one in Jaipur... all of them are under various stages of getting approval and for some of them, design has started. Taj Patna is opening this year. Ganga Kutir will be now Taj and it will open later this year or the beginning of next.