“I am a Tata loyalist so I would love to see someone close to the group pick up the house,” says Khushroo Suntook, present chairman of the NCPA and a great friend to Dr Jamshed Bhabha. Standing on the terrace of the over 70-year-old Meherangir, taking in the view of the Arabian sea and the verdant expanse of the Hanging Gardens, it is easy to understand why some of India’s top industrialists have been making visits to this Malabar Hill bungalow which is now on sale.“Maybe an HNI (high net worth individual) who loved Dr Jamshed Bhabha wants to buy the house for the fascination of living in it,” says Suntook. Tucked away in a small by-lane off Little Gibbs Road, this three-storeyed art deco bungalow was once the residence of the late Dr Homi Bhabha and his brother Dr Jamshed Bhabha. As per Dr Jamshed Bhabha’s will, it belongs to the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA). No wonder then that there are whispers of names like the Piramals, Hindujas, Ambanis and Godrejs, amongst others as prospective buyers.“We are seeing a lot of interest from end users or home buyers who include some of India’s top industrialist families. They are looking at this house as their bungalow and not for re-development. Given all the history that is attached to it and the beautiful views, we are hopeful that this will go to an end user,” said Shobhit Agarwal, MD, Capital Markets , Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), India.The NCPA has given JLL the mandate for the bid and sale of ‘Meherangir’. There are two ways to go up in ‘Meherangir’—one is to take the winding, wooden stairs up two flights or a ride up the Otis lift with wooden lattice doors. “One evening I had told Dr Jamshed Bhabha that I had trouble with my knee so I couldn’t visit him.He organised for one of the Otis service people to be there throughout the dinner to ensure that the lift would not get stuck that evening,”says Suntook. And Otis still services the lift, he says. Today Meherangir may be bereft of all the furniture, chandeliers and art that made it the elegant house that people who have visited it remember it as, like Shirin Sabavala, author and wife of the late painter Jehangir Sabavala.Yet it is easy to visualise how the Bhabhas must have lived. The Dumbwaiter (kitchen) lift, kitchens on each floor, large French windows, spacious verandahs where, as Suntook says, Dr Jamshed Bhabha entertained artists like Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar or where he often met the board of the Tata Sons like RK Krishna Kumar, NA Soonawala and R Gopalakrishnan.“I visited the house when Dr Homi Bhabha was there and I recall the elegance of everything. The Bhabhas were impeccable hosts,” says Sabavala. Till the very end, Dr Jamshed Bhabha, visited the NCPA every day.His constant refrain to Suntook was, “Why are you bothered who will live in this house? You will get over `200 crore for it!” The visionary and art patron knew that what he had so lovingly built also needed to be nurtured and this house was his contribution to ensure the NCPA would survive and fill the needs of modern times.‘‘We all know by now Dr Homi Bhabha lived here for two decades till he passed away in 1966. He was born at Kenilworth at Peddar Road, a building which the Atomic Bhabha Centre razed and developed again. Sure, I understand the sentiments of the employees who want to make a museum here.There are 100,000 employees, so sure they can bid. I wish them luck. The whole process is absolutely transparent. We are following Dr Jamshed Bhabha’s will, which stated that the NCPA is the sole owner and he wanted us to sell the house. There is no ambiguity here according to Section 36 of the Public Charities Act.Besides, we have got government-approved valuers. Everything has been done very carefully. Now, we will wait for bids. The NCPA needs the money.’’