Bhabha's bungalow could fetch Rs 250cr

MUMBAI: J J Bhabha mansion, the sprawling 15,000-sq-ft house where Homi J Bhabha, the father of Indias nuclear energy programme, spent most of his growing years, has been put up for sale. After Bhabha passed away in 1966, the bungalow's only occupant was his brother, Jamshed J Bhabha, doyen of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), India's premier cultural institution.

However, with the younger Bhabha brother passing away in 2007, the house is in the process of being auctioned, and real estate sources say the Malabar Hill property is worth at least Rs 250 crore at current market rates. Jamshed Bhabha passed away at 93, and had no heirs. In his will, discovered three years after his death, he left almost his entire estate, his Mumbai bungalow and a priceless art collection to the institution he set up 44 years ago. The will is learnt to have been drawn up 20 years ago.

It is being executed by Mumbai law firm Vigil Juris, which will soon invite public bids. The law firm is also listing an inventory of Bhabhas assets, including antique furniture and fixtures, paintings and rare research works of older brother Homi, the founder of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Proceeds from the sale of the estate, worth hundreds of crores of rupees, will be donated to NCPA.

The over half-century-old mansion has four rooms on each floor, a private library, a study and a verandah overlooking Hanging Gardens, where Bhabha hosted parties for the culturati.

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