Remote possibilities

Driving down Baner Road towards the highway, it is difficult to miss the huge white-coloured mansion that seems to resemble a castle in size and a palace in design as it stands majestically on the foot of a hill. A gate proudly proclaims it to be `Silver Point’, with the owner’s name beneath – Shivajirao Baraokar, Indian Police Service.

As you take the long and meandering path from the gate to the house on the hill, a distance of almost half a kilometre, you can almost feel the difference in temperature! “The hills beckoned me here,” reveals Baraokar, former Director General of Police, Maharashtra State, as he lounges in the capacious living room with the tall ceiling, pillared passages and sparkling white marble over every inch of the flooring. “You see, one is accustomed to large houses in government service, and thus we always had the plan for such a house in mind. It is entirely designed by me and constructed without an inch’s deviation from the way I visualised it,” reveals Baraokar proudly, adding that he procured the 14,000 sq ft area of plot in 1986. Construction, however, was literally an uphill task, as the area was sans electricity, roads and water supply when Baraokar initiated work there in 1994. “But we managed and this house was ready before I retired.” And how! With a built-up area of 7,000 sq ft comprising sixbedrooms, a double drawing room and vast verandahs, where Baraokar and his wife live today with their two sons and their families.

While the pillared exterior of the house, “inspired by European homes”, is impressive enough for passersby to stop and take pictures of the house from the road, the interior is no less arresting. With swords on walls, trophies and mementoes in special showcases, huge pedestal plant-holders and portraits of the retired police officer and his wife in carved golden frames, the impression one gets is of an old-time haveli – with modern-day amenities. The baroque teak wood furniture, made from wood carted from Baraokar’s ancestral field in Nagpur, and flowing curtains further add to the embellishments.

“I also get constant requests from film producers to give over the house for shooting but, of course, there is no question of that,” smiles Baraokar, who was also Police Commissioner, Pune, between 1988 and 89, as he zealously guards his privacy and idyllic lifestyle.

Which is what Lila and Firoze Poonawalla, too, may have had in mind when they went in for a vast piece of land near the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex at Balewadi and put up their palatial post-retirement home there. With the quite unusual star-shaped roof visible from afar, `Fili Villa’ has been the cynosure of all eyes since its completion two years ago. “We bought the 30,000 sq ft land about six years ago. The idea was to be far from the crowd,” reveals Firoze Poonawlla, adding wryly, “At that time, there was no sports complex, of course.” Nevertheless, he still finds it a refreshing and convenient getaway and is there most weekends.

The three-bedroom bungalow, with a built-up area of 4,000 sq ft, nestles amidst well-manicured gardens and palm trees. A stone pathway leads you to the octagonal living room that is done up in style. “The idea for the star-shaped roof came to us when we were flying over Switzerland once. We looked out and saw a church with such a roof – it looked magnificent. So I just clicked some pictures of it from the aircraft and decided to have a replica made for this house,” states Lila.

Much as Firoze and Lila guard their house from prying eyes now, their future plans for the grandiose bungalow are quite the opposite. “We are going to showcase all the mementoes, souvenirs and artefacts we have collected over the years here – turn this house into a kind of museum – and then finally dedicate it to the city of Pune. We do not have any children to leave all this to and thought it befitting to bequeath it to the city that has given us so much. A kind of a return gift,” smiles Lila.

Another well-known name to be attracted to the Balewadi precincts is that of the Kalmadis. Shridhar Kalmadi’s huge house taking shape there on a foothill, just a few yards behind Baraoke’s place, arrests immediate attention, courtesy the massive drive way that curves right up. According to Baraokar, the locality is a favourite with the Kalmadi clan, with “other members also having taken plots of land around the area”.

With other rich and famous names like Lata Mangeshkar and Smita Patil’s sister also having opted for sprawling plots in Balewadi and some super-luxurious row houses coming up, the area once considered the back of beyond seems to have suddenly become a most coveted one. Especially for those who are given to lolling in the lap of greenery – natural and mint-made.