Nov 17, 2006 04:30 PM
4357 Views
The Taj Mahal Hotel is a landmark in Mumbai just like the Gateway of India.It is celebrated and toasted as one of the masterpieces of those days .Its rooms and alleys are a throwback to history and the Who's Who of the world have stayed in rooms out here.
Now lets snap to reality . The Gateway of India is an irrelevant monument as it celebrates some British King George's arrival to India.But that history has been lost on us and we have indianised this monument now and it has become part of our cultural milieu.However the old environment of foreign superiority and the inferiority of the local Indians persists to this day in its neighbouring building called The Taj Mahal Hotel.
As you enter the hotel , if you are an Indian dressed moderately you get How-the -hell- did -you -get inside ? look from the staff. However if you happen to be a foreigner the reception is heavenly.People bend over backwards to welcome you, , the turbaned sikh salutes you and carries your luggage,there are people waiting with towels in the bathroom.
The Hotel and all its ageing staff are grossly out of touch with reality.They still have an impression of foreigners as Sahibs and the locals as their servants. No wonder all foreigners love this hotel.It relives those glorious years when they ruled India and we cleaned their boots.They walk with a swagger as they step into this hotel.
As it has stood there all these years other hotels have taken over the mantle of the best hotel in Mumbai. My favourite is Oberoi where the staff are courteous and do not hesitate to correspond in the local language if you are uncomfortable with English.
The same attitude spills over to the food as well. The food is bland and tasteless.It is made to suit the taste of foreigners .If locals want food that tastes, they can look somewhere else, this hotel is not meant for you.I would not recommend the food here to anybody as it is tasteless . The only exception are the desserts which are good.
Rooms are okay but there is nothing spectacular except the views of the Arabian Sea if you are staying in a balcony room.Otherwise there is nothing special to write home about them.
The Taj Mahal Hotel stands there next to the Gateway of India as a relic of the Raj . But I would suggest all Indians not to be bogged down by these formidable structures.They are nothing special.They are facades which look superior from outside but are hollow inside .They are outdated and do not know what they stand for actually.
