On my journey of understanding investing and business, I like meeting with people and sharing ideas. People teach me the most - more than any book or school or college. One of the most amazing things I recently experienced was truly magical. I have managed to go to this place close to The Taj, Mumbai at Apollo Bunder. I was to have lunch with someone interesting.
This was the first time I was eating here. It was a nice place on the rooftop of a hotel which has a much better location and view than even 'The Taj'. In fact, I have never seen a better view of Bombay than this. As I was sitting there, I could see the vast Arabian Sea, several yachts, cargo ships and the sun shining on the sea along with green islands and hills. At a distance on the other side you can see 'The Taj'. For another hundred years, nothing is going to come in front and the view shall remain the same. The food too was amazing and so was the service.
The Taj Hotel, a part of The Indian Hotel Groups, was the same hotel in which I, as well as several other Happionaires invested after the 26/11 attacks. I shared about this investment even in Happionaire's Cash The Crash. Once again see how everything is linked and connected, investing is a part of life. It went on to be a very good investment, but what is sad is that our government still has kept terrorists like Kassab alive, coming back to the place I was having lunch at.
While it isn't a place where they usually serve lunch (it is a cafe and bar), they made an exception as we were having lunch with the person who owns the hotel, Rishi Chhabria (Not related to me in anyway - I'm a Chabria - spelt differently he has a double 'h' - but certainly a fellow Sindhi and Happionaire!). The service was warm and the food amazing too.
Rishi is an interesting person and I think he has one of Bombay's best kept secrets in terms of locations and views. He owns Sea Palace Hotel and I was at Cafe Marina on its rooftop. What got me interested was that this property was purchased by his great grandfather, even before India got independence and at that time it is rumoured to have cost only Rs 15,000.
It is said that a real estate agent, came to his great-great-grandfather while he was at the nearby Radio Club, and told him there was a piece of land available just down the road. Within a span of 10-15 minutes, without even looking at the land, his grandfather told the agent that he will buy the land and immediately gave him some small token.
His family was quite upset with him for making such a move as the entire area was undeveloped, empty, in fact there wasn't even a proper road, but he has told them, that this will be the best investment the family makes. He bought the land and built, what we know today. Now almost seven decades later Rs. 15,000 would be easily worth anything the mind can imagine. Of course Rs. 15,000 was not a small amount back in those days, but then there were so many others who might have blown it up on something else.
My great-great-grandfather's side (From my maternal's side) for example were one of the richest families in Bombay, but most of them got so much wealth that instead of investing it wisely, blew large parts of it away on horse racing, gambling, cars, etc. They did buy several properties, some of which are there till today, but none at such good locations.
Today his great-great-grandchildren are enjoying the fruits he sowed several decades ago. When it comes to investing, people with vision are the ones who succeed. He had the vision to buy the land, even though his entire family was against it. He believed in his heart and listened to his inner voice.
I have met so many people who define that investing and success isn't rocket science. It is about being practical, it is about having the guts to go against everyone else and doing what your heart says - at most you will be wrong, at most you will fall, only to rise again.
Today a few speak about recession and slowdowns, but those aren't the people creating wealth, in fact the number of opportunities are immense. The same way Rishi's great grandfather did back in those days. The thing about real estate bubbles are they affect places which will have a lot of supply, so in Mumbai a place like Lower Parel or Mira Road can be a bubble, but a place near the Taj or other affluent locations with limited supply of land will not be at risk because of bubbles.
Ever since I shared my experiences in Invest The Happionaire Way, I have shared that nothing teaches us better than life and people. After you finish reading this and sharing it with everyone you know, go out and experience life. Drop down at your local cafe, store or restaurant and start speaking to the owner. There is so much to learn.
Keep smiling and happy investing!
Yogesh Chabria
Happionaire
Yogesh Chabria is a successful investor, bestselling author and entrepreneur. He started investing at the age of 16 with only Rs. 750. Today as the founder of The Happionaire Way it is his mission to help each and every Indian be empowered financially. As a part of his mission he has written several books and regularly shares ideas to change the way people think about finance, money, investing and life in general.
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