The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is a prestigious luxury five star hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control located in the Colaba region of Mumbai Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई, Mumbaī, IPA: [mʊmbaɪ] moom-BYE), also known as Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the second most populous city in the world, with a population of approximately 14 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi, Maharashtra Maharashtra (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र mahārāṣṭra, IPA: [məharaːʂʈrə]) is a state located in South West India. The word Maharashtra comes from the words Maha meaning Great and Rashtra meaning Nation, thus rendering the name Maharashtra (Great Nation). It is the second most populous and third largest state by area in India, India Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, next to the Gateway of India The Gateway of India is a monument in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. Located on the waterfront in Apollo Bunder area in South Mumbai, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 metres (85 ft) high. It was a crude jetty used by fisher folks and was later renovated and used as a landing place for British governors and other distinguished personages. In. Part of the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is a worldwide chain of luxury hotels and resorts. The Indian Hotels Company Limited and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. A part of the Tata Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates, Taj Hotels Resort and Palaces comprises 76 hotels, 7 palaces, 6 private islands, this iconic 105-year old heritage building retains its stature as the flagship property of the group and contains 565 rooms. From an historical and architectural point of view, The Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower are two distinct buildings, built at different times and in different architectural designs.
The hotel has hosted a long list of notable guests including The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was the wife of the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and served as First Lady during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. She was later married to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis from 1968 until his death in 1975. In later years, Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. At 46 he was the third-youngest president. He became president at the end of the Cold War, and was the first baby boomer president. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is currently the United States Secretary of State. Each received a Juris, Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France (two full terms, first seven years and second five), behind François Mitterrand, The King Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991. The son of the then-Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Märtha of Sweden, Harald was born at the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, Asker & Queen of Norway Queen Sonja of Norway is the wife of King Harald V of Norway, The Duke Prince Edward, Duke of Kent is a member of the British Royal Family, a grandchild of George V. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since 1942 & Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent , is a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh [N 2] is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, The Prince of Wales The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1952, he has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. After earning a bachelor of arts from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with Royal Navy in 1971-1976. He married Lady Diana, Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore, KBE is an English actor and film producer, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long running British television series The Saint, Joan Collins Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE is an English actress, author, and columnist, Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead vocalist of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has also acted in and produced several films, Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members have avoided categorising themselves as any one genre. The band also incorporated classical music, blues-rock, pop and progressive, Michael Palin Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. In the 2008 election, as well as professional cricket teams on tour. According to the BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world. Its global headquarters are located in London and its main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster that operates under a Royal, after the Mumbai attacks of November 2008 by Pakistani terrorists, the hotel serves as a symbol of Mumbai's and India's resilience.
Contents |
History
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel resort was commissioned in Indo-Saracenic The Indo-Saracenic Revival was a architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival style favoured in Victorian Britain. The style gained momentum in the west with the publication of the various style by Tata and first opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903.
It is widely believed that Jamsedji Tata decided to build the luxurious 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'. However, this story has been challenged by some commentators that suggest that Tata was unlikely to have been concerned with 'revenge' against his British adversaries. Instead they suggest that the Taj was built at the urging of editor of the Times of India The Times of India is an English-language broadsheet newspaper that is widely read throughout India. It has the largest circulation among all English-language newspapers in the world, across all formats (broadsheet, tabloid, compact, Berliner and online). It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu Jain who felt a hotel "worthy of Bombay" was needed.[1]
The original Indian architects An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings, and is licensed to practice architecture. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings, were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, safety and cost. The word engineer is derived from, W. A. Chambers. The builder was Khansaheb Sorabji Ruttonji Contractor who also designed and built its famous central floating staircase. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million today).[2] During World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital A hospital, in the modern sense of the word, is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often, but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Its historical meaning, until relatively recent times, was "a place of hospitality", for example the Chelsea Royal Hospital,. The dome of the hotel is made from the same steel as used in the Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower is an 1889 iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tallest building in Paris, it is the most-visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named for its designer, engineer. Jamsedji Tata imported the same steel during that time. The hotel was the first in India to install and operate a steam elevator An elevator is a vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors (levels, decks) of a building, vessel or other structure. Elevators are generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweight systems like a hoist, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
The side of the hotel seen from the harbour is actually its rear. The front faces away to the west. There is a widespread misconception that the architects' building plans were confused by the builder so that he built it facing away from the harbor. (Please note that the in-house video at the hotel specifically states that the hotel was in fact built the opposite way around - they must have some evidence if they are showing a video talking in detail about this). This is not true, as the hotel was deliberately built facing inland, possibly because the horse carriages in which guests came to the hotel could more easily approach the hotel from the city. The carriages were then taken to Wellington Mews. 40 years ago, the old front was closed off, and since then, access has been made through the harbor-side entrance.
There used to be a Green's Hotel[3] at the Apollo Bunder, which was purchased by the Taj Mahal Hotel. It was at the Green's Hotel, that a small group of pro-Indian Goans (largely employees of the Indian state and communists) assembled and formed the Goan Liberation Council demanding that Portugal cede Goa to India, in the 1950s. This was done at the instigation of Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian statesman who was the , and is to date the longest-serving, prime minister of India, having served from 1947 until 1964. A leading figure in the Indian independence movement, Nehru was elected by the Congress party to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister, and later when the Congress won India's, and funded by the Kamani Group of Companies. In 1973, Green's hotel was demolished and the present Tower wing was constructed in its place.
2008 terrorist attack
A view of hotel, taken a week after the 2008 Mumbai attacks Main article: November 2008 Mumbai attacksOn 26 November 2008, in a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the hotel (as well as the Oberoi The Oberoi Trident is a complex of two hotels at Nariman Point in Mumbai known as the The Oberoi hotel and the Trident, Nariman Point hotel. They are both owned and managed by the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. The two hotels are separate buildings, but are connected by a passage) was attacked, during which material damage occurred including the destruction of the roof of the hotel in the hours afterwards.[4] Hostages were taken during the attacks. At least 167 people were killed[5] in the attacks and 293 wounded[5] (the numbers include casualties at CST railway station, The Oberoi Hotel, Nariman House and the Cama Hospital), including many foreigners. The casualties were mostly Indian citizens, although westerners carrying foreign passports were singled out. Indian commandos killed the Pakistani gunmen barricaded in the hotel to end the three-day battle.
The attacks began 26 November 2008 and continued for a little over 60 hours. Approximately 450 people were staying in the Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel at the time of the seizure, and another 380 in the Oberoi The Oberoi Trident is a complex of two hotels at Nariman Point in Mumbai known as the The Oberoi hotel and the Trident, Nariman Point hotel. They are both owned and managed by the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. The two hotels are separate buildings, but are connected by a passage.[6] The Hotel Management has announced that the hotel will be rebuilt.[7]. It will take around 12 months and INR 5 billion to repair it.
The less damaged sections of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel reopened on 21 December 2008. It will take several months to rebuilt the popular heritage section of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. [8]
In July 2009, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. In the 2008 election, visited Mumbai, aiming to deepen Indo-American ties and stayed at the Taj hotel. She attended a commemoration event. "I wanted to send a message that I personally and our country is in sympathy and solidarity with the employees and the guests of the Taj who lost their lives ... with the people of Mumbai," Clinton said in an interview with India's Times Now Times Now is a 24-hour English language news channel based in Mumbai and broadcast primarily in the South Asian region and sparingly across the USA through partner networks. The channel was launched as a joint-venture of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. the publishers of The Times of India and Reuters. It launched in early 2006 expanding Times.[9]
Literature
- William Warren, Jill Gocher (2007). Asia's legendary hotels: the romance of travel. Singapore: Periplus Editions. ISBN The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, now Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith and others in 1966 978-0-7946-0174-4.
- It has also been mentioned in the short story "Sahab Bahadur" by Indian writer Sultan Rashed Mirza, Farhat Ullah Baaaig, and in the novel "Delinquent Chacha" by Ved Mehta.
References
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taj Mahal Palace Hotel |
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/03/taj-mahal-hotel-mumbai
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/27/mumbai-terror-attacks-india5
- ^ "Taj" Vol. 32, No. 3, 3rd Quarter 2003. Edited by Fatma R. Zakaria. taj.magazine@tajhotels.com
- ^ "Dozens still held hostage in Mumbai after a night of terror attacks". The Guardian. 27 November 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/27/mumbai-terror-attacks. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Death Toll in Mumbai Attacks Revised Down to 174". ABC News. 2008-11-29. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6360101. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Timeline: Mumbai under attack". BBC News. 1 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7754438.stm. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ "The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai – Detailed Information & Updates on Situation". TAJ Hotels Resorts and Palaces. 5 December 2008. http://www.tajhotels.com/tmpt.htm. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ Pasricha, Anjana (2008-12-21). "Mumbai's Attacked Hotels Reopen". Voice Of America. http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-12-21-voa10.cfm. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE56H0ST20090718
Mid-Day
Armed terrorists attacked two five-star hotels, Taj Mahal Palace and Towers and the Trident and Leopold's, a famous eatery frequented by foreigners in ...
seoforever
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:31:43 GM
Glory restored: A view of the . Taj Mahal Palace. and . Tower. Hotel in Mumbai as seen on Friday last. Photo: KR Deepak. Ninety per cent of the artwork that was damaged has been restored; Hotel to unveil place for a memorial for those who ...
