Samudra Mahal: How a lost treasure in Gwalior gave rise to India’s most expensive apartment complex

The present-day Samudra Mahal was built in the 1960s, on a 2-acre plot adjacent to the sea - it was the tallest building in the neighbourhood then. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Worli, in Mumbai, boasts of an iconic building called Samudra Mahal. It contains the homes of some of India’s most illustrious businessmen, as well as some of its most infamous ones.

Residents/apartment owners in the building, which has unobstructed views of the Arabian Sea, include tech tycoons Narayana Murthy and Nandani Nilekani, legacy business magnates from the Jeejebhoy and Wadia families, metals baron Anil Agarwal, as well as disgraced businessmen Rana Kapoor and Nirav Modi.

Built in 1973 – it was among the first ‘by invitation’ projects in India’s commercial capital.

The Gwalior connection

Before the building was constructed, the land housed the Samudra Mahal Palace of Madho Maharaj, Maharaja of Gwalior. The Scindia family descendant had taken over as Maharaja in 1886, at the age of 10.

By then the family had amassed a significant fortune that was said to have been hidden in Gwalior in a secret chamber of the palace, accessible only through a numerical code referred to as Beejak. The chamber stored an enormous number of silver coins, pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc.

In the book House of Scindias: A saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue, author Rasheed Kidwai says: “Madho Maharaj supposedly lost the Beejak and consequently access to the hidden fortune.” Many attempts are said to have been made to retrieve the treasure—most of them apparently unsuccessful.

Moving closer to Dinshaw

That experience lured the maharaja into finding a new avenue to park and invest his wealth. In that pursuit, he found a friend and adviser in Framji Edulji Dinshaw.

Such was the network and brilliance of Dinshaw that he is said to have had 30 directorships in the 1920s with a punishing work schedule. That schedule meant Dinshaw could not visit and devote adequate attention to his famous client in Gwalior. Instead, in order to be closer to Dinshaw, Madho himself decided to build a residence in Bombay. He purchased 20 acres of land from the Aga Khan next to the sea at Worli. Thereafter, he asked Gwalior State architect John Ritchie to construct a large palace for him.

The palace was built and was considered to be one of the most opulent private residences in Bombay. It was so important to Madho Maharaj that in his will of April 1925, he left instructions for his descendants to never sell the property.

Scindias’ loyalty questioned

Later that year, Madho passed away. Things began to unravel after India’s Independence in 1947. In the eyes of many, the Scindia family had long been perceived as being neutral in the struggle against the British. Some even believed that the loyalty of the family lay with the British. Thus, after attaining independence, the opulent residence of Samudra Mahal Palace was viewed with suspicion and disdain. In 1952, there was even a debate in the Bombay Legislature about confiscating Samudra Mahal and then converting it into a housing colony for the poor.

The sequence of events and moves thereafter is unclear, but by the 1960s, a large part of the Scindia estate was sold and Samudra Mahal palace was demolished.

The Scindia family was at this stage helmed by Madhavrao Scindia. His company, Helicopter Services Private Limited, would then embark on constructing a building that would again become a Bombay landmark.

Resurrection and an address for the elite 

Samudra Mahal was built on a 2-acre plot adjacent to the sea, and was the tallest building in the neighbourhood. It had a wide range of amenities that was ahead of its competition in that era.

The building, which had two wings and 28 floors, may not have been an architect’s delight but the spectacular sea views made it worth a fortune. The density of just around 80 apartments made it a preferred choice for wealthy businessmen looking for exclusivity. The project aimed to sell apartments to big corporates and succeeded.

It is said that Nusli Wadia and Ram Batra, who were Scindia’s close friends, helped him in the project. Wadia was the boss of the conglomerate that today owns companies like Bombay Dyeing and Britannia. His ancestors were legendary shipbuilders over centuries.

Batra was considered a networker par excellence and once served as the Sheriff of Bombay. The Wadia and Scindia families both own/owned apartments in the building (Scindia’s apartment was incidentally rented out to Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor).

In 2011 – an apartment in the building was sold at the highest rate ever in India. Apartments bought in the last decade in the building have averaged in excess of a whopping Rs 1 lakh per square foot. Just like the sea, its appeal is enduring. Madho Maharaj’s will of 1925 to retain the Samudra Mahal Palace within the family may not have been realised. But the land on which the palace once stood has a building that is a worthy successor.