Cynthiachandran’s Blog

A visit to Mumbai is never complete without a photograph taken underneath the Gateway of India monument.  The next best attraction would be posing for a photograph just opposite to the landmark Gateway of India; the imposing red domed The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. 

The view is panoramic as it is just opposite to the Arabian Sea.  Among the many skyscrapers, Taj was the best in all its grandeur in Mumbai and always had an iconic status among the Mumbaiker’s.

I was shocked to see how the hotel looked after the terrorist attacks. From the television footages, I could see that the carnage was beyond what I had expected, with dead bodies strewn around. The fourth and sixth floors of the hotel have been completely confined to the flames. 

 It is reported that now the hotel smells of gunpowder and burnt human flesh with blood stains everywhere.

Taj was built almost 105 years ago by a Parsi Industrialist, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, on protest against his entry being denied to the Apollo Hotel, which had a strict Europeans –only policy. According to news agencies, it was built on 1903 to commemorate the arrival of British King George V and his Queen Mary, which had 565 suites. 

 It had an architecture imposed with grandeur and the Tata group of companies who owns the hotel has sought the help of archeological experts to bring back the old glory.

The bold and the beautiful

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel had attracted tourists from all around the World. India’s and the World’s elite stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which was a palace in all means.  Notable guests who had stayed there include Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie Onassis, Beatle star John Lennon, Mick Jagger et al. 

Visiting overseas cricket teams used to stay at the Taj during international matches in Mumbai. The England team had stayed there at the beginning of the current series and was expected to return back to Taj for the now cancelled Mumbai test match.

According to the Tata group of Hotels Chairman, Ratan Tata, it will take more than one year to bring back the past glory of the hotel.  The damage caused to the hotel is beyond expectations and the loss estimated is five hundred billion rupees. 

In an interview with CNN, Ratan Tata shared the details of the meeting he had with the general manager of the hotel who lost his entire family in the attack. When Tata conveyed the sorrow for the great loss the reply he got from his general manager was ‘Sir, we are going to beat this. We are going to build this Taj back into what it was. We’re standing with you. We will not let this event take us down.’ 

 I was speechless with grief towards the gentleman’s brevity.