In the Whitefield of yore, life moved at a leisurely pace. It was the era of classic cars though you could also hail a horse-cart if you liked on arriving in the city on a steam train. Luncheons and afternoon teas were daily affairs held in the lawns of gabled colonial cottages and people knew their neighbours by their first names. But this was long before commercialisation attacked the city, making it the concrete jungle it now is.
In this fast-paced blur that is the urban existence, business mogul Sulaiman
Jamal, 66, Managing Director of Bevel Gears, has managed to retain the glamour of the jazz age at his Whitefield property. Over the years, he has painstakingly restored the stunning Sommer House to its former glory.
Seated in Sommer House, you can easily forget that outside these gates is a busy main road filled with incessant honking so characteristic of Bangalore’s thoroughfares. We’ve stepped back in time and instead of the traffic brawl, the sweet chirping of birds from the orchard here is the music we set our conversation to. In the cool shade of the wooden veranda, surrounded by antique furniture Jamal has himself collected, we sip tea and chat about the rich history of the house, Whitefield and what Jamal envisages for its future.
Jamal acquired it after selling his old house in Indiranagar where his two children were born, but buying the colonial bungalow wasn’t as simple as it sounds.
A Slice of History
The property had previously belonged to Dorothy Sommers, a German, who had fittingly nicknamed the gabled cottage Peace Place. Once she left Whitefield, the bungalow changed many hands till it came to be owned by a formidable captain intent on not selling the place to anyone ever. Jamal elaborates on how he succeeded in convincing the captain that he was the right person to possess the house, “You see, everyone wanted to buy the property, to destroy it and build something commercial here. People were trying to bribe and strike under-the-table deals. I was not such a person. I was upfront with the captain and eventually became his friend.”
In a Fix
Getting the house was just half the battle won. “When we first got the place, it was something right out of a horror story,” he says. “The whole place was overrun, the orchard had gone wild.” From the pristine parlour of the house that overlooks the veranda and one of Jamal’s famous cars from his vintage car collection, it is hard to imagine the dilapidated state he describes. The restoration of the property has been slow, he tells us, but rewarding especially for the people of Whitefield, which was one of the reasons why he took on the project at all.
“I wanted to buy this place to keep the history of Whitefield alive,” he says. “Nowadays, it is hard to imagine the glamour of the old times. I want this to be a place where we can celebrate that time of propriety, manners and sophistication.”
Jamal plans to convert cottage into a community centre free of charge for the original residents of Whitefield. He wants it to be a place to bring together original Whitefielders every month so their stories don’t go untold and they can revisit a time past.
Decorated with Love
Jamal and his wife, Christine, have decorated the bungalow themselves. “We didn’t want to get an interior designer,” Christine says. “We wanted a warm and personal feel to the property, so have restored it ourselves. We wanted it to be a place where everyone would feel comfortable, rather than it look a certain way because someone said it should look like that,” she adds.
And the two-bedroom house does have that welcoming aura. The bedrooms have four poster beds over 60 years old, vintage dressing tables and a hat stand for the ladies to hang their hats as they enjoy their lunches and gossip about the good old days.
Sommer for All
At the moment, no one lives in the Sommer House, but the Jamals have big plans for the place. After a family friend’s wedding was successfully held here in 2012, the family hopes to make the charming cottage available to a select few for the best day of their lives. “For the wedding, the house was completely transformed,” says Jamal, “It was decorated with lights and music; very different from the peaceful haven it is now.”
“It won’t just be for weddings,” Jamal quickly adds. “Be it a writer in need of peace to pen his next novel, or a musician who wants to escape the pressures of fame, or an old teacher or an army general, The Sommer Cottage will be the place for them. It won’t be a cover for a money spinner. That is not what interests us,” he says.
By next year, Jamal aims to install an event manager to oversee the lunches for Whitefield residents, bespoke weddings and weekend escapes from the city. In the whirlwind of modern life, Jamal’s commitment to providing Bangalore the opportunity to enjoy life at a slow pace is one that sits very well.