Meandering in Mumbai

To experience India is to share in its dreams, incessant joys, tribulations and sorrows. Many events have come and gone, the latest being the bombings in Mumbai where historic buildings and glorious hotels came under siege for several horrific days. Just recently, however, more than 1,000 key clients and guests were invited to a private reception before an evening reopening of 268 rooms and seven restaurants in the modern Tower wing of the luxurious Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, financial capital of India.

Ratan Tata, chief executive of the giant Tata Group conglomerate that owns the Taj, has vowed to restore the Old Wing of the building to its former glory. Raymond Bickson, chief executive and managing director of the Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, which runs the Taj, has said the re-opening is an “affirmation of the values of courage, resilience and dignity” in cosmopolitan Mumbai.

In the past, a most massive earthquake in 1905 devastated the city’s landmarks except for the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Nothing can drive a great structure down — without it rising once again like a phoenix. This timeless, ageless monument dedicated to eternal love is here to stay. No one gets accustomed to a magnificent landmark. No matter how often one witnesses it, it somehow feels like the first time.

I was in Mumbai last August with my sister Jaqui Boncan and dear friend Mel Martinez. It was here where I fell in love with the grandiose Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Its white marble and crimson dome is stunning. Approaching the spectacular structure, the symmetry is perfect; it looks pinkish at sunrise, and I could surmise its transition from milky white in the afternoon and pale gold in the moonlight. The Taj’s PR executives Parinita Gawri and Kirti Dhingra welcomed us to our magnificent home away from home. We were graciously ushered into an almost forgotten world of elegance and riches

splendidly preserved. We relived the beauty of the past, relished the present knowing today is the treasure of tomorrow.

Behind each magnificent edifice lies the extraordinary vision of one great man. It was his love for the City of Bombay or Mumbai that a dynamic man called Jamsetji Tata created the resplendent epitome of the Tata Empire. Some have even written that “he believed in India long before India believed in herself.” Born in 1839, Jamsetji’s years coincided with the zenith of British power. He was the first to create, in Jawaharlal Nehru’s later phrase, the temples and monuments of modern India. He treated wealth as a trust, meaning what came from the people must, in a quintessential sense, return to them. Nothing but the finest in the world would do for Jamsetji’s India, an ambition that was all the more courageous, existing in the 19th century.

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower has over a hundred years of history and culture. Built in 1903, this 546-room hotel is an architectural masterpiece combining Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles into a grand confection. The hotel is a renowned landmark of the city of Mumbai, located only minutes from the central business district of the city. The Taj was ahead of its time. When such edifice was enveloped with Indian hospitality, it certainly gave the world a truly spectacular and stunning hotel. The centenary literature of the Taj states that “in 1904, just a year after the Taj was inaugurated, Jamsetji Tata died, but India was born.”

From our colonial suite located in the Old Wing of the hotel we watched the golden orb of the sun setting beyond the Arabian Sea; the real silhouette of the Gateway of India stood starkly etched against the dark sky. A monument of magnificent proportions, the Gateway beckons visitors to Mumbai, the premier metropolis of India, one of the most celebrated cities, home to many famous Bollywood stars.

From the moment the Taj was erected, visitors from the world over regarded it as the Prince among hotels, synonymous to the quintessence of imperial amplitude. Interesting to note, it has been rumored that Tata was refused entry in two hotels which incited him to build his own. With most of the rooms overlooking the sea, it is the comfort of the guests that rationalizes the U-shaped structure, meant to trap the late afternoon breezes blowing not directly from the harbor but from across the Back Bay. Inside the hotel, the visitor will be enthralled by the number of galleries from one end to the other, the string of verandas, the superb central staircase, and shafts of sunlight that penetrate from within. The widely traveled Jamsetji desired a first-class hotel that would attract visitors to India and he spared neither the energy nor the means to realize his project. I was humbled by the grandeur of the Taj, simply being in the very same edifice where Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi met to shape India’s destiny.

Back in the 1903 when the Taj opened, its billing as the finest hotel in the East tickled the curiosity of many ruling princes who checked in with their royal eccentricities. An early report describes the peculiar shock of a receptionist when a monarch checked in followed with his pet tiger in tow. Interesting to note guests like George Harrison, Gregory Peck, Viceroy Montbatten, George Bernard Shaw, Maggie Thatcher, the Dalai Lama, the Beatles and more have made the Taj their premier address in Mumbai.

Dining at the in-house Indian restaurant called Masala Craft, we savored the delectable cuisine of Punjabi black daal, lamb biryani, kebabs, curries, tender and flavorful atta chicken, freshly baked breads with garlic and hummus. Indian tea, gulab jamun and kulfi for dessert capped the heavenly meal which was incidentally as delightful as the ambiance.

At the sea lounge, we felt transported back in time as it is in some ways probably the only link with the Bombay of 1960s that hasn’t become frayed by the ages. Around the Taj is the Kolaba shopping area which is a shopper’s paradise. We literally ran wild choosing from the colorful saris, shimmering silks and brocades, antiques, leather ware, paintings, handicrafts, shoes, bags, mogri and more. One more thing that amazed us: the choice of books they were selling on the streets included titles by Paolo Coelho, Rhonda Byrnes, Mitch Ablom, a peek into what the citizens are appreciating that reflects their values and sophistication.

It was a cool evening as we strolled outside the Taj and Gateway of India. With supreme reverence, we were awed by the cultural abundance of India. Why has it taken me so long to travel and explore this beautiful haven? To India I vow to keep returning and when the Old Wing of the Taj reopens, I will be at its doorstep like a loyal friend eager to share in its every milestone.

The Taj does this to me — it makes me believe in many more chances than one. From every angle, as the light changes, so does something in me. Beyond its quintessential beauty, the Taj has a soul that I have come to embrace. There is nothing in this world that comes close to it.

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For more information on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, please call Ms Parinita Gawri at 91 (22) 6665-3366 or log on to website www.tajhotels.com.

Thai Airways flies to Mumbai via Bangkok. Call Malu Duenas at 812-4744.

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E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com