The Taj - A Labour Of Love...

Despite having lived in Mumbai for 10 years, I hadn't visited her. Despite having adored this beauty for so long, I had never experienced her. 

I am talking about the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The first time I saw the beautiful structure was way back in the early 1980s when the UK edition of the Illustrated Weekly carried a feature on the best hotels of the world. The Taj was featured in it. I was absolutely smitten and awestruck. 

My Dad told that this beautiful structure was in Mumbai, or Bombay as it was known then... and I wanted to see it myself, with my two little eyes...

The first I laid my eyes on it was in 2003, when I visited Mumbai for work. But I didn't get the chance to visit it. After moving to Mumbai in 2004, I saw the Taj many times but it was only last week that I got chance to visit this amazing place, a structure symbolic of my city, Mumbai, and India as well, a symbol of our fight against terror.

We drove into the Taj to attend a function early last Saturday.... After the function was over, we took a round of the property...

The jharokas are reminiscent of a Rajasthani haveli....

While the architecture is in typical 19th century European style, the interior was distinctly Indian....

Such a regal structure....

Anyone would fall in love with these sights

Surely those men who attacked the Taj were madmen and they deserved the end they finally met...

Wonderful jaali-work in the lobby...

The grand staircase...

The dome from the grand staircase...

The bust of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata..

Legend has it that he decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to "whites only"....

As fate would have it, Watson's decayed over time and is a dilapidated structure, but the Taj still stands strong after a century...

The very look and feel of the property shouts out loud that it is a labour of love.... you can sense it, you can feel it...

And the way the Tatas restored the property after the 26/11 attacks speaks of that love and that steely resolve to give us the best....

We dropped by at the Sea Lounge for a cup of tea...

A lovely view of the Gateway of India made the experience very exciting...

The Sea Lounge was replete with old world charm...

The waiters seemed to be oldtimers here.... and made us feel as though we were at home...

This kind of hospitality is a rarity these days... in hotels that pride calling themselves modern and contemporary...

The oldtimers' hospitality at the Taj would embarrass their younger counterparts in the newer hotels with the superiority of their service....

Larry entertained us with his lovely renditions of classics on the piano...

And finally my tea came - I had the Monkey King Jasmine Tea that had come from afar, China...

Complimentary coconut cookies came alongwith the tea - these reminded me of my Mom's legendary baking skills....

After splurging on a rather expensive tea (I wasn't complaining, as the hospitality more than made up for the damages), we took a walk on the Apollo Bunder....

This was the scene of a bloody massacre on 26/11... people jumping out of these windows... smoke belching out... firemen rushing to save whatever they could...

Hope we never see that here, or anywhere else in India...

But it is indeed a feat how the Tatas restored the property after the Pakis screwed up the place...

We walked around the promenade enjoying the views... Indeed the Taj heritage wing is an imposing structure, but the adjoining high-rise wing is no less impressive...

Indeed, whoever has seen the Taj will forever remember the Bombay of yesteryears, the Mumbai of today and terror we faced on 26/11.... Indeed the Taj has been, is and will be a labour of love...., a love that's timeless...

7 Days Off A Week...

A little over 2 years back, I got a real shock when my Dad told me he was hanging up his boots. It was a double shock - a few days later, my Mom also announced her decision to retire.

Both of them were well past their retirement age for years already, and they had never shown signs of "slowing down". What kept them going was a distinct inner-energy and will power. 

But their sudden and abrupt decision made me realise that they had indeed aged, and that I wasn't a kid anymore, a realisation which is hard and that takes time to sink in.....

Just around that time, I cam across this amazing YouTube video of a Thai Airways commander's retirement and send-off... A profound message was communicated "You are not retired yet, just have 7 days off a week, congratulations!"
That made me realise that they still have a lot to keep themselves bury, things they loved to do - read, write, cook, roam the world and what not...
I wish them luck and pray that God gives them energy to pursue their passions that they could not while they were on their professional pursuits. All the best and enjoy the 7 days off a week!

Up In The Air .... Part 18

Clouds have always fascinated me, right from when I was a kid. Those giant cotton balls in the sky against a landscape of the rolling savanna grasslands in Zambia fascinated me no end. But I was in for a major disappointment when we shifted back to India. In the North, clouds were pretty anaemic and weak, not like the mighty, lofty giants in the deep blue skies above the green savanna....

But then shifting to Mumbai a decade ago made up for the disappointment.... the mighty clouds were here to see, bringing back memories from my childhood...

But then the perspective from Up In The Air is indeed quite different, but still quite beautiful.

On the way back from Chennai last week, I encountered some amazingly beautiful sights from Up In The Air! These were probably the best sights I encountered from a height of 38,000 feet! These are the sights that made heart go mmmmmmm!

The earlier editions of Up In The Air can be accessed here on this hyperlink - Up In The Air series!