A spokesperson of the group told The Financial Express: "Tata Sons has bid for the property but there are a number of permissions to be sought before acquiring it."

JRD, however, never owned the place; he took the Scottish-style colonial bungalow `The Cairn' on rent (at Rs 1,200 per month) from his brother-in-law Sir Dinshaw Petit III. Years after JRD's death, now Tata Sons feels it must own the residence of the driving spirit behind the `Creation of Wealth'.

Cairn is a Scottish word for a pile of stones kept as a landmark, specially on a mountain or a path. The bungalow may have been the only concrete structure on Altamount Road when it was built in the middle of the 19th century.

It is more than just a pile of stones. It hasabout 1.3 acres of lush green land and a built-up area of over 60,000 square feet, dotted with small beautiful cottages (servant quarters) in the estate. It was part of a larger estate called Mount IDA, which had been sold to private developers decades ago.

Situated amidst an acre of green grass--the last major patch of greenery atop Altamount Road--the bungalow has two formals: at the lower level there is the dining-cum-living room with a small flight of steps leading to 10 bedrooms, most of which usually lying vacant. Sir Dinshaw Petit III, brother of JRD's wife Thelma, purchased it in 1890 from a Scot called Robertson.

JRD and Thelma lived here for 50 years. After they passed away, the property was given back to a Parsi trust called Awabai Petit Residuary Estate Trust. To date, the bungalow remains locked with memories of its occupants.

Chief executive of the Petit Trust RK Lalkaka fondly remembers JRD of having had an interest in machine tools. Says Lalkaka: "He (JRD) was so interested (in machinetools) that he converted one of the rooms in the bungalow to a lathe workshop with special electrical connections. He used to spend his free time in this room." In fact, one of the 15 rooms in the bungalow still has the lathe works complete with electrical connections--just the way JRD last left it.

JRD used to drive a Chrysler from Cairn to work, and people in the locality even today remember getting a lift in his car to town from Altamount Road. JRD used to pick up pedestrians on their way to town, remembers an old man in the neighbourhood.

The bungalow is now classified as a heritage III structure by the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC heritage preservation rules stipulate that modifications on the structure should be undertaken only on condition that the style remains intact.

Tata Sons is the successor to the first trading firm founded by Jamshedji Tata. It promoted and managed all Tata outfits till 1970. Following a trusteeship concept of management, about 60 per cent of the capital ofTata Sons is held by a philanthropic trust endowed by Sir Dorab Tata and Sir Ratan Tata, the founder's sons, and other charitable trusts. Today, the Tata Sons board has a wide representation of chairpersons and chief executives of major operating Tata companies. The elected chairperson of the board of Tata Sons is recognised as the group chairman.