Amir Nensey is a rajah of a man. He lives life kingsize and more royally than anybody I know. And while I have not as yet got to know Dr. Vijay Mallya, that King of Good Times, I am sure that Amir�s lifestyle is as charged and exciting as the UB Group chairman�s is, if not more. For one thing, they both have a passion for fast cars. The day I met him at his lovely mansion overlooking the Royal Palms golf links in Goregaon, Amir drove me around the property in an S Class Merc. Actually, drove is not the proper word to use. He was driving that classy car as if it was an F1 that Schumacher was testing at Silverstone! His foot pressed the accelerator into the floorboard and kept it there. And we raced around the property in a crazy, dangerous manner, Amir hitting 120 in the stretches, and dropping down to 80 on the hairpin bends and curves. I held my breath. His handsome wife Rahat Nensey, sat in the back and said her prayers, invoking Allah to prevent us from a crash. Thankfully, we did not crash. Amir is a far better driver than Rahat imagines, and he brought us back safely to their home, the Merc pulling up inches from the other gleaming cars in the driveway: another Merc, a two-seater sports model, and a BMW. �I love to drive fast,� he told me, stepping nimbly out of the car. �I tell my driver, I am paying you to drive slowly, go like a Parsi, I know how to drive fast!�

The home is more than a residence for the Nenseys. This is Amir�s retirement gift to himself when he turned 50 on May 11, 2000. He promised himself and the family that he would do as little work as possible when he turned 50. They have been staying here since 1998. The mansion has no name. Amir goes to town, to his old home in Colaba, some three times a year. He steps outside Royal Palms six times a year. But once in every six weeks, he and Rahat take trips to South-East Asia, they visit Thailand, Malaysia, China. They go shopping for merchandise that they use or sell on their properties. �It is a business and pleasure trip,� he said. �More pleasure than business.� And the Nenseys, who are devout Sunni Khojas, make several pilgrimages every year. He is God-fearing, but not to the point of being fanatically religious. This is the same man whose dream led to Bombay getting Royal Palms, a 240-acre sought-after haven for exalted living with its 18-hole golf course, residential apartments, villas, row houses, weekend getaway homes, a five-star hotel, an exquisite club and IT Parks. Besides which, Amir wants this realty hot spot to witness the rapid development of a few more five-star hotels, a sprawling discount mall, an expansive convention centre and other urban attractions. From being a golf course and country club, in a short while Royal Palms has become a leisure resort and one-stop urban township showcasing a luxurious yet affordable lifestyle. �Tourism has reached a peak,� said Amir, �and I see real estate developing. My core competence is that I have been in the construction business for 40 years now.� That he has, but I will not go into those details here, for this is all about Amir Nensey � the man and his lifestyle.

And he has an enviable lifestyle by any standards. He works from home, from 9.30 to 1.30, that�s four hours every day. The secretary has been told to gently remind him when it is 1.25 o�clock and time to quit work. Amir will not take any calls after that. And nor does he carry a cell phone. Callers are politely told that Amir will get back to them the next day. �I love to work, but I want to live a long innings, and I know my limitations,� he said. He takes a nap, and in the evening, goes to play golf. �I take golf seriously,� he said, �and I play by myself, I don�t need competition because I enjoy myself. I have a handicap that is between 3 and 9 and I�ve had four holes-in-one. I don�t play when I�m travelling abroad. And here in Bombay, I sometimes play every day, and sometimes I don�t play for days. It is not golf, but my family that makes me tick. Them, and working on new ideas. My wife, who is my best critic, says I need a new toy every now and then. If I can convince her a new project will work, then I can convince anybody.� Which is why, perhaps, he does most of his paperwork from home, sitting in the evening with the family. �Experience has taught me not to sign any documents at work, when I am under intense pressure, and there is confusion in the office,� Amir said. The family is behind him strongly.

Amir, as chairman of Royal Palms India Pvt. Ltd., handles the planning, designing and construction work. His son Mohammed, who is 33 and managing director, is the liaisoning officer who looks after the management of the estate, gets the approvals and permits for whatever is required. The second son, 31-year-old Dilawar, is joint managing director and looks after the marketing and running of the hotel. Wife Rahat is in charge of the day-to-day administration, the HR, purchases, and she works only between 11.30 and 1.30 every day. Saturdays and Sundays, the family does not work. They spend it playing with their grandson Omar, Dilawar�s son who is 9, and who has the run of the mansion and the vast property on his custom-built BMX bike. Amir describes himself as a businessman. �But I have the best of lifestyles,� he admitted, �I have no responsibilities of anybody. I don�t use public money, I don�t borrow, what I make in my businesses I put back. Whether my projects work or not, I have no headaches, no tensions on my head, because I face no restrictions from investors and I have no guarantees to live up to. I can do what I want, as long as I am harming nobody, and I have my family to back me. Tell me, what more can any man want?� It is true. But his lifestyle extends to beyond family, golf and fast cars. At 56, Amir is in the best shape of his life and loves working out, he has a spa at home, he is fond of shopping for clothes, jewellery and shoes, he owns 100 pairs, he enjoys eating out, he has the best Thai and Indian chefs catering to him from the hotel, he loves reading fiction, watching movies, TV, he enjoys his wife�s company enormously, he used to be a big pipe smoker but gave it up before smoking got to him. And another thing, Amir Nensey has never touched alcohol in all his life, Dr. Vijay Mallya to please note.