Delhiwale: Capital’s capital check-in

A cartoon creature stands in the lobby of The Ashok

A cartoon creature stands in the lobby of The Ashok. Two antennae rise from its forehead. It wears sunglasses and shorts, pulling a suitcase with one hand and holding up an Indian passport with another. At its feet glow the words: #THEASHOK@70.

Diana Mickevičienė, Lithuania’s ambassador to India poses with The Ashok’s 70th anniversary cartoon. (HT Photo)

The government-run 5-star hotel turns 70 next month. For much of those seven decades, “all the world’s a stage” might have been written for the Ashok. The world came to Delhi, much of it passing through here: kings and presidents, film stars and writers, diplomats and politicians, wedding parties and conspirators.

The hotel was built in 1956 on a jungle hill to accommodate delegates to a Unesco conference that November. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rode on horseback around the premises, inspecting even the flower beds. Construction was completed on 31 August. The hotel opened on 31 October.

Designed by architect E.B. Doctor, the building spreads across the grounds in wings, with rows of windows and arches. Lawns frame the front. Palms follow a path along one side. V.S. Naipaul, never easy to please, stayed here in the 1960s and was unimpressed. The writer noticed worn carpets, grimy armchairs and an abandoned jharoo. Che Guevara was a guest in 1959. In 1968, Indira Gandhi hosted a banquet for a thousand guests to celebrate the marriage of son Rajiv with Sonia. Two decades later, Velupillai Prabhakaran was put up on the fifth floor while the Indian government negotiated the Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord. The LTTE he led would later assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. Fidel Castro checked into the hotel in 1983. The following year, Yasser Arafat came for Indira Gandhi’s funeral, and was sighted in the lobby with a pistol on his hip. Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi team stayed here in the 1980s while shooting in Delhi. Ben Kingsley used the poolside to acquire his Gandhi tan. The great Sridevi filmed a song for Chandni at the hotel coffee shop.

The hotel introduced Delhi to new ways of eating and hanging out. Burgundy served French food, Tokyo naturally specialised in you-know-which cuisine, Kumgang served Korean khana and Taverna Cyprus dished out Cypriot cuisine. The Peacock Room introduced buffet lunches to Delhi. Rouge et Noir held cabaret. The Supper Club was a happening nightclub, hosting performances by pop music pioneers like Usha Uthup and Sharon Prabhakar.

This evening, the lobby is dingdong with marble floors, chandeliers and a grandly winding staircase. A piano stands by a window facing the garden. Its long-time pianist Mahesh Agarwal died during the second Covid wave. Elsewhere, a banner is announcing a “gala dinner” later tonight for the 4th Indo-German Environment Forum.

Among those crossing the lobby is the gracious Diana Mickevičienė, Lithuania’s ambassador to India, on her way to a meeting. Urged to pose with the anniversary cartoon, she sportingly sits beside the happy figure. On the floor beneath them glows the reflection of the Ashok’s 70.