Snob VALUE

They own expensive paintings, luxo-barges like Mercs and Beemers, with an extra Lexus or Jaguar, and the latest handbags from Dolce 038; Gabbana, Fendi and Christian Dior. When they want to shop, they go to Dubai. When they want to exercise, it has to be the en vogue Pilates8212;taught by a personal instructor. And instead of a kitty party lunch, they8217;d rather do an all-girls spa holiday in Switzerland.

Sheetal Mafatlal is one such. Famous for her rock-sized emeralds, she may insist that Indian-made kitchens are the best she heads Mafatlal Interiors, but won8217;t sit or sleep on anything less than a Versace. Mafatlal8217;s wedding lehenga, made by trousseau veteran Pallavi Jaikishen, cost Rs 9 lakh, but the buzz was about the backless gold Versace dress designed by Donatella, who had flown down for her precious client8217;s wedding.

If Mafatlal has her Versace fetish, Queenie Dhody8212;the new face of Mumbai8217;s high society8212;says she was always known as 8220;the lady with the shoes8221;. So does every holiday abroad mean a new pair? 8220;One new pair! My husband would be the happiest man if there was just one pair,8221; she scoffs. 8220;I come back with bags of new shoes.8221;

Or there8217;s former actress and Ambani bahu Tina, who8217;s not only famous for her rapidly growing art collection, but her extraordinary jewels as well. Then there8217;s the angelic Shallu Jindal, the prettier half of Delhi industrialist-cum-lawyer Navin Jindal. While Shallu may talk eloquently about her latest MF Husain acquisition 8220;it8217;s relatively old and has got six large horses in it8221;, she8217;s better known for her style sense8212;her shopping rendezvous takes her to Paris 8220;at least once a year8221;.

Mumbai8217;s one-time society girl Ramona Garware now Vadhera is also a quintessential high-maintenance Barbie8212;who takes off on shopping holidays five times in 365 days to London, Milan, Paris and Rome.

8220;I8217;ve recently come back from Malaysia with a Christian Dior belt with an awesome bronze-gold 8216;D8217; dangling from it,8221; says Vadhera, who8217;s no stranger to spa holidays either. That happens when she isn8217;t soaking in her own wellness in Mumbai or Delhi Hyatt hotel gyms or frequenting the spa at Jaipur8217;s Rajvilas. Mumbai8217;s Anju Taraporvala, another lover of spa retreats with the girls, has just returned from a spa vacation at Chivasom in Malaysia with her mother. One of Asia8217;s best, a night at Chivasom costs 300 a pop. And if it8217;s Indian locales, the Rs 20,000-a-night Ananda spa in the Himalayas is a must-visit for India8217;s royal and top notch social set like Tarun Tahiliani and Lalit and Minal Modi.

While Delhi-based make-up artist Ambika Pillai says socialites come to her even for the simplest nail cut 8220;they know if you8217;re well-kept, it8217;s going to show8221;, an extensive beauty regime has been multiplied manifold in the guise of wellness.

No smelly, bustling gyms, naturally; yoga is the new age mantra. 8220;I need the rejuvenation everyday,8221; says Vadhera, who spends at least an hour with her yoga instructor Laxmi. A Delhi-based socialite, who refuses to be named, says, 8220;Grooming is all about mind, body and soul rejuvenation. That8217;s why many of us are getting into Pilates. Though we don8217;t have a Pilates institute in Delhi, those who8217;re interested are flying down to New York for it.8221;

There8217;s more than just yoga and wellness on the shopping list. A holiday at any of the world8217;s mega-cities means an update of the latest collections of handbags. The most popular ones are Fendi priced at Rs 25,000 onwards, Dolce 038; Gabbana Rs 22,000 onwards and Christian Dior Rs 45,000 onwards; there are women especially, the older ones who prefer classics from Ferragamo, Cartier and Furla Rs 50,000 onwards.

Each brand launches two to four collections a year and those 8216;with it8217; wouldn8217;t be caught dead with a dated bag. Dhody8212;a proud owner of Valentino, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci bags8212;says: 8220;Everyone owns branded bags, these are just a given in our society.8221;

While Taraporvala has been spotted with at least a few of each label, Vadhera8217;s latest is a Louis Vuitton. 8220;I can8217;t reveal the price as most people would find it unnerving,8221; she admits.

It8217;s people like these who8217;re making Louis Vuitton, one among the big luxury labels to enter India, rejoice. 8220;We8217;re doing exceptionally well,8221; says Tikka Shatrujit Singh, Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy group advisor. 8220;Despite a 70 per cent import tax, we still don8217;t lose any money here,8221; he points out. 8220;Just the other day, a prominent person from Delhi asked for six suitcases for his daughter8217;s wedding. We often have orders for 10 or 20 pieces,8221; Singh adds. Even with prices as steep as between

Rs 50,000 and Rs 1,50,000 for a handbag and between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh for a suitcase, India, says Singh, is a profitable market.

High-maintenance isn8217;t, for sure, an all-female activity. And the one name that comes to mind is of king brewer-turned-Rajya Sabha MP, Vijay Mallya. Mallya smells of Mammon, and, for starters, owns sprawling houses in Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and San Francisco. Then there is, apart from a fleet of Mercedes, his classic and vintage car collection that features delectables like the Ferrari GTS, the Maserati Merak, an 1899 Humber and a 1937 Pierce Arrow. His newest indulgence is a Boeing 747, customised with a fancy bedroom and dining area, which flits across the globe ferrying politicians and celebrities from Shahnawaz Hussain to Sunil Alagh and Shilpa Shetty.

Amitabh Bachchan is another man known for his fine indulgences. Not only is his make-up van a Mercedes, he has just acquired a Mercedes SL500, estimated at Rs 1 crore and owned by just four other individuals in the country. The actor8217;s watch collection is fascinating too8212;he has one of the largest with the most expensive names such as Patek Philippe said to be the most expensive watch in the world, Piaget the cheapest one costs Rs 3 lakh, Chopard and Longines.

Talking about watches, there are few as expensive as Harry Winston timepieces which start at Rs 5 lakh and go all the way upto Rs 2.5 crore. And Paul Busser, Harry Winston managing director, who was in India last week, was amazed at the awareness about the brand and the welcome it received, says Harry Winston8217;s Indian distributor, Raoff Ansari.

Forty-something inveterate bachelor Suhel Seth, Delhi8217;s shining prince, will be among those interested in a Winston. Watches are a passion with the ad man, whose 40-odd collection includes Patek Philippe, Franck Muller, Audemars Piguet and 8220;some Cartiers8221;. 8220;I8217;ve never counted how many I own,8221; he laughs.

Says Seth, famous for his string of smart acquisitions8212;the latest being a 30 per cent share in Star TV8217;s Indian operations, 8220;I believe in living life to the fullest and have no qualms admitting it.8221;

The flamboyance of this man, who drives around either in his Mercedes E240 or BMW Roadster, is renowned. He8217;s flown the Concorde 22 times 8220;I love it8221;. His 8220;nice holidays8221; mean locales like Cuba, Venice and Jamaica, only First Class. He loves sport, so he flew to England for the Wimbledon finals, as he did to Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix. 8220;I8217;ve just booked myself for the 2004 Athens Olympics.8221; Then, there is his art collection, three of Bikash Bhattacharjee, two from Anjolie Ela Menon, three Husains, three 8220;lovely Gandhis8221; from Akbar Padamsee, and some from Paresh Maity, Satish Gujral, Jamini Roy, and some RK Laxman cartoons.

While Seth may cry hoarse about 8220;hating fashion8221;, it isn8217;t Indian designers he craves for. This dapper gent looks no beyond the Italian make Ermenegildo Zegna. He proudly admits to owning around 15 Zegna suits, each one priced at a minimum of Rs 1,10,000!

Zegna is also a favourite of Mumbai-based high-profile lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani. The Jethmalanis8212;both Mahesh and his pretty wife Hasina8212;besides wielding much might, lead glamourous lives party-hopping across the globe. As do Roohi and Chetan Jaikishen, who, while insisting on putting business first, are only too happy to flit to Switzerland for a friend8217;s yacht party at St Moritz.

But for many, sitting pretty isn8217;t enough. Even though India8217;s society ladies can afford their high maintenance, they8217;d like a 8216;meaningful8217; profession on the side to add another facet to their diamond-studded personality. And most of the 8216;jobs8217; they pursue are dainty and glamourous enough to befit them8212;either fashion or jewellery designing.

While Vadhera has often tried to open a fashion store her affiliation, a store at Mumbai8217;s Ambassador Hotel called Vue with model Lascelles Symmons went out as soon she entered matrimony, Hasina Jethmalani is a designer and co-partner at another Mumbai store called S8217;. Dhody, on the other hand, has just launched herself as a brand8212;Jewels by Queenie.

All that8217;s left now for India8217;s high maintenance people is to bathe in milk and honey. But then, Cleopatra ran a country for that.

With inputs from Tina Baruah/New Delhi

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