Journalism of Courage
Real estate businessman Sachin Khese is now used to people staring at his car as he drives through the narrow and crowded Pune roads. A Rs 2 lakh gold wrap treatment has turned the staid black colour of his Jaguar XF into a glittering gold that makes heads turn wherever he goes.
Twenty-eight-year old Khese, however, said he did not get his car gold-wrapped to grab attention. Instead, it was done on an astrologer’s advice to ward off bad luck, he said. The Jaguar is one of the 12 luxury vehicles in Khese’s garage. “I bought my first car in 2007-08. As my business grew, I started buying luxury cars and now I have a Mercedes S class (priced over Rs 1 crore) and a Range Rover (priced Rs 2 crore) among others,” he said.
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Khese bought the Jaguar in October 2014 for Rs 63 lakh. However, he was not able to shake off warnings by his astrologers against buying a black vehicle. “Three months back, during a visit to a car accessories shop, I said I intended to sell the car. That’s when the designer there asked me to try the gold wrap treatment. At first I wanted a steel finish wrap, but the shopkeeper convinced me to try the golden wrap,” he said.
Khese said gold wrapping of vehicles is common in the Middle East, but his might be the first such vehicle in Pune. Khese said he avoids making a show of it. He has not shared any picture of the car on the social media, he said.
Khese’s family is known for its wealth and political connections. His uncle Pandurang Khese was chairman of the Pune Market Committee and a cooperative sugar mill. Closely connected with the NCP, the family has substantial land holdings in the area.
