Hi! - Ranjit's SVAASA

WE AMRITSARIS
The famous and aristocratic Mehras of Amritsar have converted their haveli
into Ranjit SVAASA adjudged a Luxury Boutique Hotel at the World Luxury Hotel
Awards 2010. It is an oasis of organic food, traditional hospitality and a charming
repackaging of the family’s history for discerning visitors. Hi! gets up close with
the charming Mehra family.
Rama Ranjit Mehra converted the family’s ancestral Nanak Shahi Haveli to Ranjit’s SVAASA; the Luxury Boutique Hotel was made
in memory of her husband Ranjit Mehra, who succumbed to cancer in 2000
Two-hundred-and-fifty years are
enough for memories to fade. But not
in Amritsar’s Nanak Shahi Haveli. It’s
owned by the Mehras, who belong to the
illustrious lineage of Rai Bahadur Kalyan
Singh, the ‘sarvarah’ of the Golden Temple
from 1880 to 1895.
Step into the haveli, reconverted to
Ranjit’s SVAASA, and you realise why it
was adjudged a Luxury Boutique Hotel at
the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2010 held
in Bangkok this autumn. Stone lions and an
aroma of invigorating rosemary welcome
you into the royal retreat hidden from
the hustle of Amritsar. A stately corridor
bedecked with frames of yesteryear
memories of the Mehra family take you
back in time. You walk in only to realise
that this was adjudged the Best Boutique
Spa at the AsiaSpa India Awards 2009, not
for nothing. Impressed and excited we try
to get a glimpse of the haveli’s past, a past
that is treasured by the descendants who
nurture this abode of bliss.
Kalyan Singh was the predecessor of
Rai Bahadur Lala Rattan Chand Mehra
who took Amritsar beyond the Walled
City and set up the tuberculosis hospital,
a cow shelter, a blind school and a temple
ground for the disabled. Rattan Chand’s
son, Devinder Chand Mehra, established
the international airport at Raja Sansi by
bringing in the Ariana Afghan Airlines
and the Ritz Hotel.
The Mehras continue with their
enterprise in the field of natural medicine
and holistic wellness. An oasis of beauty
nestled in the busy Mall Road, Ranjit’s
SVAASA garners from everyone a
reverence out of love and faith in the good
work that the family is doing.
The oldest surviving member of the
family, Rama Ranjit Mehra appears to
have aged gracefully from the coy bride
seen on those frames in the corridor.
The Mehras: Abhimanyu, Rathika, grandson Jai, Rama, Vishhal Chand, Iqbal Rattan
“My husband Ranjit Rattan Mehra came
for the wedding sitting on an elephant.
I want Abhimanyu to get married here.
As for the elephant, we’ll see,” she smiles
introducing one of her three sons, the quiet
Abhimanyu Rattan Mehra, twin brother of
Vishhal Chand Mehra. Their elder brother
Iqbal Rattan Mehra handles SVAASA
Nutraceuticals and Organics, and is
married to Rathika Iqbal Mehra. They have
a beautiful boy called Jai Rattan.
The Nanak Shahi Haveli used to look
a bit different when Rama got married in
1977. The lawns were bigger and where the
Spa Pavilion is today, that’s where the cow
sheds and horse stables were. Devinder
Chand Mehra gifted his grandsons three
horses—Akbar for Iqbal, Silver Cloud for
Vishhal and Padmini for Abhimanyu.
“We used to ride our horses on the lawn.
And run around catching butterflies and
fireflies,” says Iqbal.
The fresh milk from the cows has left
an indelible aftertaste in their mouth. No
wonder they want their guests to have
only pure and organic food during their
stay at the heritage boutique spa hotel,
converted from this old haveli a few years
ago. “We grow organic wheat, pulses and
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Hi! Blitz x MAY 2011
Hi! Blitz x MAY 2011
vegetables. Every dish is made with either
olive oil or desi ghee. It is important to eat
well and treat your body well,” says Rama.
Rama is close to Ranjit’s SVAASA,
made in memory of her beloved husband,
who succumbed to cancer in 2000. She
herself is a cancer survivor and has taken
up the cudgels of making life better for
cancer patients through the use of natural
herbs and medicines supported by science.
“It was a relentless battle to snatch my
husband from the jaws of death. During
it, I learnt that one does not require chemo

to combat cancer. Natural medicines
are enough, but it was too late for my
husband. But I decided to spread the
awareness about natural, organic herbs
and nutrients. Today, SVAASA has made
inroads and people have recognised the
connect between natural medicine and a
holistically balanced living,” says Rama.
Her study taught her how to sense
which brands make the most effective
natural medicines. She brought them
to India and started selling them. The
first few years proved tough, but then,
as the Mehras soldiered on, the tables
were turned on the illnesses in a natural
way. They claim that today, SVAASA’s
medicines have caught cancer by the
neck. And that similar positive effects
have been achieved in cases of dementia,
diabetes and other chronic ailments. Rama
is invited to give talks on wellness across
various credible platforms such as FICCI,
AICS and AIWA.
After the death of her husband, the
Nanak Shahi Haveli was inherited by
Rama and her sons. Dilapidated as it was,
it still retained its old-world charm and
grandeur. That was when the young men
and their mother decided to turn this into
a world-class boutique spa hotel, replete
with its royal trimmings. That the Mehras
were steeped in their culture, tradition and
heritage is evident from the look that the
haveli was given. “We wanted our guests
to experience the luxury we have been
living through our lives. Vishhal took
charge of the restoration and I designed
the interiors,” says Rama.
Packing the rooms and suites with
artefacts that have come down for
generations, the hotel is a heady mix of
luxury and relaxation. The furniture and
carpets are vintage. Like the hand-woven
Afghani carpet that adorns the wall in the
reception lounge. They inform us that only
Hi! Blitz!
An oasis of beauty, Ranjit’s SVAASA garners from everyone a reverence out of love &
faith in the good work that the family is doing
Iqbal Rattan & Rathika Mehra
four were made in the world and one of
Twins Abhimanyu & Vishhal enjoy playing the piano; the family hosts music programmes
every year
Hi! Blitz x MAY 2011
them is owned by them.
A special part of the haveli is the private
dining hall, all elegant in its woody feel.
“It’s a tradition here that food will be
served by the lady of the house. The dishes
are never re-heated as the original taste is
spoiled. The dough is freshly kneaded.
No food is stored in the refrigerator,” says
Rathika.
Fine dining apart, poetry also runs in
their veins. Each one in the lineage of Rai
Bahadur Rattan Chand Mehra, Lal Chand
Mehra, Devinder Chand Mehra and
Ranjit Rattan Mehra were extremely
fond of Urdu poetry, and from the
beginning, acclaimed poets from Lahore
and other parts of the country were
invited for sher-e-shayari baithaks. Begum
Akhtar and Ghulam Ali have recited
for them.
To continue with this musical tradition,
Rama has commenced for music lovers
monthly programmes of Sur Sangam
Sangeet with annual gala celebrations on
Basant every year. Another royal family
event that the Mehras have stuck to for
200 years is the yearly Sevai Mata langar
in Ramtalai.
As we watch the Mehra women dress
up for the photo shoot, they revel in
their silks, French chiffons, Benarasis
and traditional jewellery handed down
from generations. Rama and Rathika
are spot on when we ask them how old
a certain bag is, or how long back was
a certain jadau kundan neckpiece made.
“How can you forget? These are priceless
heirlooms. Like this Noritake dinnerware
handed down to me by my grandmother.
This bag I’m carrying was made by my
great grandmother,” says Rama, looking
all warm and cosy in her ancient Baagh,
a Punjabi shawl that belonged to her
maternal grandmother.
While the women get ready in their
finery, we shift focus to the men of the
house. Vishhal loves to overlook the
proceedings in the haveli. He’s a modern
day prince, but without the quintessential
royal air.
For two years, he has been hosting
fashion weekends here at this quaint
destination. The haveli gets transformed
into an upmarket boutique fashion store
where designers are invited to retail. “They
love it as it is personal and classy here,”
says the man who has learned many a trick
of the trade from his twin Abhimanyu,
a hotel management graduate from Les
Roches, Switzerland.
Happy faces amidst an extraordinary
setting, that’s Ranjit’s SVAASA of the
Mehras. But, there have been disturbances,
too. Like, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
On the fateful day in 1919, Rai Bahadur
Lala Rattan Chand Mehra heard the gun
shots that killed thousands of innocents,
while he was near the Golden Temple.
Being a pioneering entity in town, was
an OBE and announced to be knighted
by the Queen, after the massacre, he was
summoned to testify that General Dyer
had been provoked before the firing. “But
he did not lie and hence was not knighted.
That is what we have learned, to be honest
and keep striving,” says Iqbal. No wonder,
streets and the tea market in the walled
city are named after the Rai Bahadur. His
name and photograph hangs in the city
town hall.
Ranjit’s SVAASA has been treating
tired souls with a graciousness that makes
you feel one with them and makes you
relive their glorious past. That is what the
Mehras and their royal abode have done...
replenished us with their beautiful culture,
heritage and tradition.
Their private dining hall; “It’s a tradition here that food will be served by the lady of the house. The dishes are never re-heated as the
original taste is spoiled.”—Rathika Mehra
Hi! Blitz x MAY 2011