MUMBAI: Rumah paling mahal di dunia kini terbiar kosong selepas pemiliknya enggan berpindah ke situ kerana takut ditimpa bala.
Bangunan 27 tingkat itu - dinamakan Antilia - adalah milik orang paling kaya di India dan tokoh kesembilan terkaya di dunia, Mukesh Ambani, dengan nilai kekayaan RM84.5 bilion.
Ketika ini, Antilia begitu menonjol di Mumbai sejak ia disiapkan tahun lalu.
Bagaimanapun, pelbagai spekulasi tersebar selepas Mukesh, isteri, Nita dan dua anak mereka tidak berpindah ke situ hingga kini.
Memiliki tiga tempat pendaratan helikopter, enam tingkat kawasan meletak kenderaan dan sejumlah taman tergantung, menurut penilaian vastu shastra - sejenis kepercayaan seperti feng shui - Antilia akan membawa nasib malang kepada penghuninya.
Laporan menyatakan, keluarga Mukesh bimbang apabila mendapati Antilia gagal mematuhi prinsip pembinaan yang direstui vastu shastra. Sumber berkata, Mukesh bertegas enggan mendiami bangunan itu kerana percaya dia dan keluarganya berdepan dengan sumpahan nasib malang.
Walaupun begitu, bangunan itu pernah digunakan untuk tayangan filem dan majlis makan malam dikendalikan kakitangan terlatih dari rangkaian hotel mewah Oberoi.
Menurut sumber, Mukesh akan kembali ke rumah sedia ada setiap kali majlis berkenaan selesai diadakan. “Dia enggan bermalam di Antilia,” katanya.
Menurut falsafah vastu yang digunakan dalam pembinaan kuil Hindu, sesebuah bangunan mesti menghadap matahari terbit.
Bahagian timur Antilia pula tidak memiliki tingkap atau ruang terbuka mencukupi bagi membolehkan penghuninya mendapat cahaya pagi mencukupi.
Ketika ini Mukesh dan kaum keluarganya masih tinggal di rumah lebih sederhana mereka - sebuah apartmen 14 tingkat di selatan Mumbai.
Sementara itu, jurucakap Mukesh mendakwa alasan mengapa bilionair itu enggan berpindah ke Antilia sekadar gosip liar.
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MUMBAI: The world’s most expensive home is lying unused and abandoned because its billionaire owners believe moving in will bring them bad luck, the Daily Mail reported.
The 27-storey, billion-dollar tower in Mumbai, called Antilia, is said to have fallen foul of vastu shastra – an obscure Hindu version of feng shui.
Built for India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani – ranked by Forbes as the ninth wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of $27billion – Antilia has dominated the Mumbai skyline since being completed last year.
But speculation has grown as to why Ambani, his wife Nita and their two children have not moved into their extravagant new home.
Certainly the property – which has three helipads, six floors of parking and a series of floating gardens – is comfortable enough.
According to reports, the Ambani family is concerned the building fails to conform to the ancient Indian architectural principles of vastu shastra, and has refused to move in for fear the home will curse them with bad luck.
Film screenings have been staged in its state-of-the-art theatre and dinners held in its grand ballroom, served by staff trained by the luxury Oberoi hotel chain.
But its owners return at the end of each party to their former ancestral home, never staying the night.
Vastu, a philosophy that guides Hindu temple architecture, emphasises the importance of facing the rising sun – and despite the staggering sum spent on Antilia the building’s eastern side does not have enough windows or other openings to let residents receive sufficient morning light.
Instead of moving into their dream home, the Ambanis continue to stay in the more modest, 14-storey apartment tower at the south end of the city that they share, on different floors, with the rest of their extended family.
Tushar Pania, a spokesman for Ambani’s company Reliance Industries, dismissed questions about whether the family was reluctant to live at Antilia as idle gossip.
Last year, as it was nearing completion, many Mumbai residents criticised the building as an ostentatious display of wealth in a country where most people live on less than $2 a day.
Half a mile from Ambani’s 27-storey tower, a competing skyscraper is making its way into Mumbai’s skyline.
The building is being constructed by the Singhania family, which controls Indian suit maker the Raymond Group.
Seen at a distance, the two buildings are strikingly similar, with soaring columns, large sea-facing windows and a nearly identical jigsaw puzzle facade.