EXQUISITE LOCATION

(by R.C.NATARAJAN)

“This place is out of this world,” said Anil Mathur to his top executives who had come to his house for an informal dinner and discussions. Seated in the large drawing room, they were enjoying their beer on a summer afternoon, while he was showing them on his iPad the photographs of the place he was referring to.

Anil Mathur was a business baron with interest in food products, road transport, shipping, education, structural, construction, real estate and exports. He inherited all these when he was fifteen years old from his father who died of a heart attack. In the next fifteen years, he managed them well to grow his empire noticeably.

Recently, Anil acquired a land of about five acres near Lovedale in Ooty district. The location was high on the eastern side of the mountain, covering a cliff on the far side with a breath-taking view of the valley. He had called his executives to brainstorm about how to utilise the land best.

Anil     When I went to Coimbatore last June, I came across someone who was looking for a trustworthy buyer of this land. He was concerned about the location being spoiled, which he was against. He needed the money without compromising on his conditions. I managed to convince him that I will not put up any chemical unit or such that will emit heavy smokes in the area. I want you to suggest something.

Exec1   Sir, why don’t you just build a house and use it as your summer home? You deserve a break once year.

Anil      I regarded that idea. But it is too large to be wasted in a house.

Exec2    How about a guesthouse? Our foreign dignitaries can be taken on a trip there for discussions.

Anil’s four year-old daughter ran in and climbed on his lap. Anil gave her a hug and a kiss.

Anil      Ritu beta, uncles have come to talk about office work. You go inside and play please?

Ritu       Na. I want to sit next to daddy (and hugged his waist)

Anil       Beta, darling, na? Please?

Ritu       Mobile (and stretched out her little hand)

She made herself comfortable next to Anil and started playing a game on his mobile. The discussions continued.

Anil     Guesthouse did cross my mind. But it will eat away a lot of money. I want it to be self-sustaining.

Exec3   Then it should generate its own revenue, Sir. Are you having hospitality in mind?

Anil      I thought about it. The place is tough to reach. The road stops 200 feet beow the land on the mountain slope. The government will not allow us to dig a road there, as it will involve cutting down trees.

Exec 3  The location you showed has two stages Sir. Am I right?

Anil      Yes, it does. And there are very few trees, mostly eucalyptus, at the border, which need not be cut. It looks like the previous owner planned to construct something and removed some of the trees in the interior. The location is relatively treeless in the middle.

Exec4   Do you have any thoughts you would like to share Sir? Such as do’s and don’ts?

Anil      I don’t want any emission. I don’t want to build a road to it. Hotel will require an approach road; same is the case with a house or a guest house.

Exec5    Any thoughts on how it should function, Sir?

Anil        It should generate funds, not necessarily for profits.

Exec6   It means it should attract a lot of people, Sir? Should we think of a tourist attraction there? Something like a “Valley View Point”…

Anil      Sounds good. Any other ideas?

Exec7    Sir. How about an exclusive bar-cum-restaurant and link it up with some of the star hotels as a visiting point?

Anil       Hmm… the last 100 feet or so will have to be covered only on foot. Remember that.

Exec7    That can be worked out Sir. We can put up a slanting walking path and light it up well for the night. The view will be wonderful. We can even put up some benches for people to sit and relax.

Anil       Will it earn enough to sustain?

Exec2    We need to market it Sir. We should not confine to only five star crowd but others too.

Anil      Such as…?

Exec2    Tourists too. It should be a destination by itself for the tourists. On the Lovedale side of Nilgiris, there is no tourist destination. Ketti valley is below. That’s all. We should put up a fun or a theme park, something that combines the fun of both Sim’s Park and the Botanical Garden. It should be difficult to reach so that smaller crowd but good ones will come. We should not allow all and sundry to visit the place and turn it into a garbage dump.

Anil      I am not looking at exclusivity. Why should we? God has given me everything in life so early. Why should I not do something that benefits many people?

Exec3    Sounds fair Sir. Don’t you want to charge a price for it?

Anil      I do need revenues. How much to charge will determine how much crowd it will attract.

Exec4   The majot attraction will be the remoteness and the slight difficulty to reach. We can make that as our sales point.

Anil      I want something that attracts people throughout the year. People should feel happy when they go back.

Ritu       (Without taking her eyes from the mobile phone) Daddy, are you building a temple?

All were shocked.

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