Penny's Lane

Whitewashed walls, the sea and the sky beyond are the perfect backdrop to an impressive collection of art in the recently refurbished and stylish yet child friendly home of art collector and gallery owner Penny Patel.

- Renuka Modi

I drive past gallerist Penny Patel’s home at least twice a day, but this quaint apartment is so discretely tucked away behind an apartment block facing one of the busiest streets in South Mumbai that I had no idea it existed. “Walk straight past the main building,” I was told, “down a flight of stairs, and take a right at the chikoo tree.” So I did, and there it was—right by a bush of bright fuchsia bougainvillea. And to think that I’ve lived in the neighbourhood for more than 30 years.

The disbelief continues as I walk through a white porch, with mosaic tiles and stained glass, to an arched doorway. There is no door bell. Even stranger, for a Mumbai home on the ground floor, the door isn’t locked. As I stand there wondering how to announce my arrival, I’m greeted enthusiastically by Penny and her real-estate developer husband, Sanjeev.

The view as you walk in is hard to ignore—there, in its full glory, is the Arabian Sea, punctuated by palm trees, their necks craning up to the sun.

Urban oasis

The seaside is clearly a huge part of Ghana-born Penny’s life. Her childhood was filled with happy memories of her parents and brother on the beaches of West Africa, where her parents still live. Though she met her husband Sanjeev in Mumbai, when they decided to get married, it was on the beaches of Goa that they finally did.

This spacious four-bedroom home is one of a maze of apartments on a seafront estate called the White House, which has been in Sanjeev’s family for generations. “My grandfather, who was a pioneer of the film processing business, bought it from a cousin of the Tatas. Over the years, as the family has grown, the cousins have moved into private apartments of their own,” explains Sanjeev.