My precious piece of luxury

Geetanjali Kirloskar
Business Tycoon (Director, Kirloskar Group of Companies)
“For me, luxury is the highest value that must appeal to my senses and not utility. My art collection that I have picked up from my travels from all over the world over 25 years, is my most precious piece of luxury. I own more than 50 pieces of brilliant artwork. Paintings, sculptures, installations and art-photography don the walls of my house. I have bought a wide range of works from seniors like Manu Parekh, M.F. Hussain to emerging young artists from all over the world. Second, my vanilla four-star golf set from the high-end Japanese brand, Honma Golf is very precious to me. I bought the entire set of 14 handmade, gold-finished golf clubs with an expensive electric pink-colour golf bag for it. When I pick up something that is more evolved than the highest point, it is luxury for me.”

Prasad Bidapa
Fashion Guru

“Dhoti De Luxe. In crazy, chaotic Kolkata, a city I am in love with, with its decaying beauty and gorgeous women, there stands a shop called Adi Dhakeswari Bastralay, which sells the finest muslin dhotis in exquisite varieties. From the lightest of white (woven five-meter lengths), to the heavy cream and gold bridegroom’s dhotis—the dazzling array is spread out on old teakwood showcases for your delectation. Shonkar Da is my favourite salesman. He knows what I am looking for and pulls out the simple ‘shaada’ daily-wear cottons with thin-coloured borders. I choose half a dozen and then come the elaborate evening wear dhotis. From the deepest anthracite to rich midnight blues, each piece is an original and cannot be duplicated. This is true luxury—a handwoven treasure. I pick a deep olive green with a gold border and a rich crimson with a black and gold border that is stunning in its impact. The dhobhi comes to pick up my dhotis. And a day later, he will deliver them to my hotel with each dhoti crinkled into the pleated ‘chunat’ work. When they arrive from the store’s appointed dhobi, each dhoti rolled into a tube and ready to be packed. These are my sartorial treasures, my kind of luxury!”

Nicole Faria
Miss Earth 2010 and Actress

“My prized possession is my Frederique Constant watch. Central features like rose gold case, diamonds and mother-of-pearl dial catch the eye. The watch is a new model in the 2014 Ladies Automatic World Heart Federation (WHF) collection. The luxury brand from Geneva supports the WHF’s ‘Hearts of Children’ campaign. A certain percentage of each watch that is sold goes to WHF, where a child gets a free heart scan. Somehow you give back to society.  That defines luxury.”

Manoviraj Khosla
Fashion Designer

“My most precious piece of luxury is my house in Goa. I built it four years ago. I love this city, it is a great retreat. You reach the city in 45 minutes by flight from Bangalore. Or on impulse you can decide to take a fantastic road trip to Goa. The city gives you a brilliant combination of day and nightlife. Most cities offer you either. But Goa from dawn to dusk gives you great options to stay on the beach, sleep by the pool, fabulous food at great restaurants to superb parties that go on till 6 am. You can swing between hectic and non-hectic periods here. You can relax during peaceful monsoons and enjoy the neurotic December season. I often have friends over from all over India, at my Goa home where we holiday together. Having a house here is pure luxury. It is something I really use a lot as I visit the city at least 15 to 20 times
a year.”

Mira Gulati
Founder & Principal Designer, Mirari

“It’s difficult for me to choose one piece of luxury. Many jewels at Mirari encompass the definition of luxury for me. Mirari’s Ruby Embrace set in rare Burmese rubies, the Classic shield necklace with a unique 5.77 carat shield solitaire at the helm of the design and Mirari’s Drops Of Heaven earrings with the most intricate detailing are some of my personal luxurious picks. Luxury for me is an amalgamation of quality, extraordinary design and visionary creativity. I’ve always been inspired by the daring, extravagant jewellery worn by the maharanis from our romantic design past. I love our extraordinary design history, which made such a glorious feature of excess. And what I really like to do is to take the very best of our Indian traditions and make them our own. Luxury for me is also reflected in pieces that live on in our memories long after the event.”

Sanchita Ajjampur
Fashion Designer

“Luxury for me is an emotional experience that cannot be achieved through products alone. Constant travelling and a nomadic childhood have culminated in eclectic influences of global reach. A distillation of vivid memories have been garnered from my Viennese upbringing, schooling in the United Kingdom and studies in the art and design cities of Milan and Paris, highlighted by trips to Europe’s art museums as a teenager that sparked my love of the mood of the Secession movement (artists Klimt and Schiele) that emerged in Vienna in 1897. If I were to pick one piece that symbolises luxury for me, it would be my silk jacquard Poiret peacoat that I bought when I was a student, from Didier Ludot, a Parisian vintage boutique for collectors. Entering into a world of collectors and global travellers, my definition of luxury can best be described as that of a cultural nomad whose eye for craftsmanship and recherché quality has led me to choose pieces of timeless expression.”