Recent Comments

1. over 8 years ago on 1 and Done

   “Bombay 100 Years AgoTHE TAJ MAHAL PALACE HOTEL ENTRANCE. This façade hardly needs an introduction, but this view is slightly flummoxing. On closer scrutiny, those familiar with the iconic landmark might recognize this as the harbor view of the hotel. The main entrance faces west, and, according to one theory, was designed that way to allow access to horse carriages. Another rumor is that the architect misinterpreted the plans and designed the hotel facing the wrong way (inland). The Taj Mahal, built at a cost of £250,000, opened in 1903.”

   Actually the story - perhaps apocryphal but much juicier -- is that the architect, a young man on the rise, saw the hotel as the signature achievement of his career to come. He left the plans with contractors, returned to blighty to avoid the heat and monsoon and returned months later to find the hotel erected backward, i.e. not facing the Gateway to India and the Arabian Sea. That’s why the seafront entrances are so pokey and the other side, the grand facade faces seedy fleabag hotels on dingy narror streets.

   Rumor has it rather than face the shame he blew his brains out.