“There is no such thing as bad publicity. I’m proof of that.” This September 25 Facebook post by the Punjab-origin Canadian national Jyoti Matharoo, aka Taranjot Matharoo, 34, has a ring of truth. For Jyoti and her sister Kiranjot, aka Kiran, 32 — who were featured in the Sunday magazine of The New York Times this week — notoriety has proven to be as lucrative as fame.

Their Instagram following jumped by over 20,000 after their 2016 arrest by the Nigerian authorities for blackmailing wealthy men with sex tapes, a charge rubbished by the Matharoo sisters, also called the “Canadian Kardashians”. These days their blog ‘Matropolitan’ is plastered with pictures of their recent vacation at a private seaside villa in Dubai with gold taps in the bath, a Rolls Royce, and Louis Vuitton luggage.

Luxury redefined

NYT says a bedroom in their Toronto home looks like a luxury boutique with over 70 pairs of designer shoes and dozens of handbags from brands like Hermès, Celine, Gucci and Saint Laurent. There are drawers full of expensive gold and diamond jewellery, and Rolex and Piaget watches. Parked outside is their third Mercedes Benz, paid for by a wealthy paramour.

Their social media posts provide a peek into their lavish lifestyle rivalling Paris Hilton, the wealthy American heiress who is their role model. From yachting in the Bahamas, shopping in Paris and Dubai, flying on private jets and sunbathing in Saint- Tropez and Spain, the photos flaunt it all.

From Punjab to Toronto

Taranjot and Kiranjot were born to Indian parents who migrated from Punjab to North York in Toronto. A local paper, The Toronto Star, says their father was a cab driver at Rexdale who struggled to educate them at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School in Toronto. Later, the sisters attended Emery Collegiate Institute where they were known for their provocative costumes often tailored by Kiran. Friends say while Jyoti was fond of literature and history, Kiran was good at chess, math and science.

Once out of high school, they enrolled in a two-year fashion arts and business program at Humber College, while working part-time. They enjoyed clubbing and their striking looks and statuesque frame-- the two sisters are 5’7’’-- made them quite an eyeful, but they mostly dated broke college students.

Kiran, an avid cook, wanted to work in the hotel industry, while Jyoti aspired to be a bartender. With their travels taking them mainly to India, where they loved both Ludhiana and Agra with equal passion, they thought they would eventually marry an Indian and settle in Toronto.

’High’ on Nigeria

The Star says things changed when Kiran, then 21, met a Nigerian businessman while working at Marciano, a fashion brand owned by Guess. They began dating, and soon he introduced Jyoti to a Nigerian executive. In 2008, the two invited the sisters to trip to Europe and Nigeria. The sisters told Toronto Star they were stunned when they were ushered into a private jet. Later, they found that Jyoti’s boyfriend, who eventually bought her a condominium in Toronto and paid her a stipend of 10,000 pounds a month, was one of the richest oil magnates of Nigeria.

By the time this relationship ended in 2012, the sisters had become a rage in Lagos, where Kiran began working as a consultant for Bazaar, a fancy restaurant. Alongside, the sisters used their writing and photography skills to ramp up their social media presence with titillating pictures of themselves and their uber-rich lifestyle. While it got them lots of followers, they were loathed by Nigerians, especially women, who called them “prostitutes”.

Their good times came to an abrupt end when they were picked up by the Nigerian police on December 14, 2016, for extortion through a gossip website called NaijaGistLive. What followed was an 18-day-long nightmare. The sisters claim were it not for a Nigerian lawyer, who helped them approach the Canadian embassy that issued them travel papers, they would have remained in Nigeria forever.

Back in Canada, the sisters disappeared for a while, but they are back now. Kiran is working on a YouTube channel with food and fashion videos, while Jyoti is planning a book called “How to meet a Billionaire.”

Life is good. On November 2, Jyoti posted, “When everything you touch turns to gold.”

First Published: Nov 13, 2018 11:56 IST