East of Eden, on the Money
Curtis Ellis
Photos by Curtis Ellis
India is a vast country, larger than the imagination. The high-tech engine that’s driving the new Indian economy is Hyderabad, nicknamed Cyberabad. The government offered cheap land and tax incentives to lure companies like Microsoft and Google and the rewards have been extravagant. The new cyber-city on the edge of town looks like it was transplanted from southern California.
Fabulous wealth is nothing new to Hyderabad. This was the world’s exclusive source of diamonds until the 1800s and its ancient artisans developed the technique for drilling holes in pearls in order to string them, which resulted in cornering that market as well. The ruler of the realm, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was long the world’s richest man. His home, Falaknuma Palace, Urdu for “mirror of heaven,” is now a hotel, maybe the most fabulous in the world.
A horse drawn carriage meets you at the gate at the top of the hill to ferry you to the palace entrance flanked by dual staircases. The Taj hotel chain spent millions of rupees restoring it to its original splendor and guests have full run of the property: the dining room that seats 101 (at one table), the billiards room with soaring ceilings and hand-tooled leather sofas, the Jade Room resplendent with Chinese cabinetry and inlaid wood floors, the library paneled in teak and rosewood, and the acres of marble moldings, floors, cherubs, fountains and staircases, throughout. The unparalleled Nizam Suite, home to a maharaja, showcases the tusk from an elephant bagged by the Nizam himself. And a glass-topped terrace extends from the rear of the palace and serves as a cocktail lounge overlooking the city, a sublime place to pause and reflect anytime, but especially at sundown as the call to prayer drifts from the minarets.
Another stop, Bangalore, is a city in the midst of a building boom, now the IT capital of the world. Aboard The Golden Chariot, cabins are paneled in blond wood with carved moldings and a fold-down desk. Cabins offer double or twin beds with a private bathroom equipped with a shower with plenty of hot water. The train travels by night and breakfast, lunch and dinner, truly first-rate cuisine, are served in the dining cars with linen tablecloths, china, crystal and cutlery.
Mumbai is still called Bombay by most of its residents. They also call it the city that never sleeps. The financial capital of the nation, Mumbai is plugged in to every time zone on earth. This is the new India, an economy growing at an astonishing 8% a year where the energy is palpable.
Like swinging London in the 60s, an international crowd rubs shoulders with Bollywood stars, global financiers and India’s young and restless, flush with new wealth, at bustling restaurants, shops and boutiques like Bombay Electric, Fab India and Bungalow 8. Old meets new in old Brit warehouses on the tree-lined streets of the Victorian quarter converted into ateliers where traditional influences mix with modern flair and you may find the work of the latest designers like Jade Jagger and Liz Hurley.
A dizzying mix of centuries is on full display as cows wander the streets alongside Bentleys and three-wheeled tuk-tuk mototaxis. Turbans, business suits, saris and dhotis file into the sidewalks and the imposing Victoria Terminal railway station. Art deco apartments line the waterfront strand; a nearby billionaire has built a 27-story skyscraper for his family of five. Only blocks away, a small army washes the city’s laundry by hand while another gathers lunches prepared at home in the suburbs and delivers them to the city’s office workers with military precision. A place—and a job—for everyone.
Mumbai was the Gateway of India for the Brits, and crowds throng to the so-named archway on the waterfront in front of the elegant Taj hotel. A turreted Victorian pile, the Taj embodies old-school opulence with tea served in mahogany lounges, designer clothes and gems sparkling in a colonnade of shops and museum-quality art on display in the corridors. This is where movie stars, royalty and heads of state stay. A luxury suite enshrines the time Ravi Shankar taught Beatle George Harrison to play sitar here in the Sergeant Pepper era.
The chic, modern Oberoi was thoroughly redesigned in 2010 and embodies the forward-looking cachet of the new Bombay. The soaring lobby/atrium has a gleaming floor of cool white marble that seems like it should be polished by a Zamboni. Necks crane to catch a glimpse of a Bollywood director and actress he’s rumored to be involved with at Vetro, the impeccable in-house Italian bistro. Aside from top-notch food, unmatched service and celebrity watching, the Oberoi offers the best amenity imaginable: a 24-hour spa service. There’s nothing like a shiatsu massage before boarding that 11 p.m. departure for America or for recuperating after a 13-hour flight to get here.
Worldwide travel consultants, Our Personal Guest, arrange escorts at each stop on the itinerary, hosts really, thoroughly immersed in the culture and society—one a jewelry designer, another the grandson of the Nizam’s prime minister—each ever at the ready with background information, tips, guidance and historical and cultural context.
Other must-see stops on a trip of a lifetime to India:
Kabini, a wildlife reserve, once the private hunting ground of the Maharaja of Mysore, features safari by boat and up-close, unobstructed views of elephants and other wildlife.
Maharaja’s palace in Mysore is illuminated for festivals with 96,000 light bulbs festooned in the elaborately filigreed exterior.
Hoysala, Pattadakkal and Halebid temple complexes are Rococo confections covered inside and out with intricately-carved stone statuary representative of deities, fables and rituals. The temples are like cakes elaborately iced by a pastry chef overdosing on butter cream, no part has been left blank.
Jain temple at Shravanabelagola is an awe-inspiring statue of Lord Gomateshwara standing 60-feet tall atop 700 steps on a hill of bare rock. One of the Seven Wonders of India, this monolith depicts the sky-clad (read: naked) Jain monk carved from a single block of granite. Every 12 years, thousands of pilgrims flock here to anoint the statue with ghee and saffron. Pre-dating Buddhism, the Jain practice an austere faith that forbids eating meat or taking the life of even an insect.
Badami cave temples, a World Heritage site carved into red sandstone cliffs in the 6th century, are the earliest examples of Hindu culture. Bas-reliefs depict classical Indian dance scenes from the Kama Sutra and the gods Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, and Shiva, the destroyer.
Hampi, a primordial landscape of giant boulders and baking sun with World Heritage roots, is where the god Hanuman was born and ruled over his monkey kingdom. It was from here that he dispatched his fabled army of primates in the Ramayana.
Vittala Temple Complex is an incomparable showcase of 56 musical pillars that when struck are tuned to resonate with perfect pitch and precise tonal quality.
Soukya, an Ayurvedic treatment center and spa on the outskirts of town, is where East meets West and the rich and famous, among them royalty from Buckingham Palace. The founder of this retreat, Dr. Isaac Mathai, is trained in both Western medicine and traditional Indian Ayurvedic practices.
For travel to India and other destinations worldwide:
Our Personal Guest http://www.ourpersonalguest.com/
Jet Airways http://www.jetairways.com
The Golden Chariot train http://www.thegoldenchariot.co.in/
Orange County Resort Kabini http://www.orangecounty.in/kabini/kabini-accommodation.php
The Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel
The Taj Hotel http://bit.ly/lB2JdM
The Oberoi http://www.oberoihotels.com/oberoi_mumbai/index.asp
