Shah Rukh’s ancestral home becomes a tourist hub

MANGALORE: Harbour House, which stands in a quiet bylane of the port premises in Panambur, is now a tourist attraction. The sprawling bungalow, once inhabited by Khan, has gained popularity of late and is seeing both fans and school kids making a beeline to catch a glimpse of it. Located in the high-security zone, the on-duty guards are having a hard time handling the sudden increase in tourist activity.
“Ever since Shah Rukh Khan revealed (in an interview to an Indian daily) that his grandfather was the chief engineer of the Mangalore Port and that he too lived here, this house has become famous. I served as a guard there and never imagined that one of the grand kids would become such a huge star,” says a security officer at the New Mangalore Port.
Khan was an infant at the time of his grandfather Ifthikar Ahmed’s deputation to the Mangalore Harbour Project. “He arrived here after working on the Sharavathi Dam in Shimoga and was our first chief. He was here from 1963-67, during which time we were closely associated.
In my 33 years of service, I can vouch that he was one of the finest officers I ever met,” says Nagesh Marol, who was an assistant engineer at the time of Ifthikar’s tenure, and subsequently, retired as chief engineer.
Meanwhile, Khan’s revelations have created a buzz on Mangalore’s social-networking pages. “The family’s driver Mehmood is still around,” said one, while another said how Chennai Express is doing well now that Mangaloreans feel a kinship with him. The port authorities, too, want SRK to visit his childhood home. “He can see first-hand his grandfather’s legendary status,” they say.