How M S Oberoi became India's greatest hotelier

October 21, 2005 08:24 IST

was researching India's [ Images ] Industrialists when I met Mohan Singh Oberoi (1900-2002) for the first time. It was 1982, he was no longer a young man. Courtly as always,

he offered to make my job easier.

He would write a note on himself, which I could use as background material. The note arrived a week later and lay among my notes for the next twenty years.

As the managing editor of The Smart Manager, it gives me immense pleasure to publish this short autobiography as a tribute to India's greatest hotelier.

The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, owns and manages thirty hotels and five luxury cruisers across six countries under the 'Oberoi' & 'Trident' brands. The activities of the Group include airline catering, management of restaurants and airport bars, travel and tour services, car rental, project management and corporate air charters.

was born on August 15, 1900 in a small village, Bhaun in district Jhelum, which now forms a part of Pakistan. The story of my life

has been, in many ways, a dramatic one -- full of difficulties and hardships, in earlier days and later a spectacular rise to the position I now hold.

But this was not achieved without incessant toil and a daily fight against tremendous odds. Yet it was a challenge to prove myself. When I look back to those days, as I sometimes do, in moments of leisure, I am thankful that I was able to accept this challenge and make good.

These reflections also make me feel humble for I realise it was with God's help that I achieved what the world calls 'success.'

My father, Shri A S Oberoi was a contractor in Peshawar, who died when I was only six months old. The family consisted of my mother and myself. My earlier days were spent in the little village of my birth. I began my education at the village school. Later, I was sent to the nearby town of Rawalpindi and enrolled in the DAV school from where I matriculated.

After this I went to Lahore [ Images ] to join college and passed my Intermediate Examination. My studies were cut short as our already meagre finances began to dwindle. This was a moment of anxiety in my life as I realised that my qualifications would not get me a job.

However, at the suggestion of a friend, I went to Amritsar [ Images ], stayed with him and took a course in shorthand and typing.

There was still no job for me on the horizon and I decided to get back to my village, where it would be easier to live than in a big city. There followed a point of waiting and frustration. My uncle helped me to get a job in the Lahore Shoe Factory. My work was to supervise the manufacture and sale of shoes.

For a while, things looked brighter but the star of ill luck was still in the ascendant and soon the factory was closed down for lack of finances and I was compelled to return to my village.

In India the importance attached to marriage is beyond all reason. Here I was penniless, jobless and almost friendless, but in spite of these very real disadvantages, my marriage was arranged with the daughter of Shri Ushnak Rai, who belonged to my village. I think my bright looks may have influenced my father-in-law.

I like to think that in spite of other shortcomings I was a smart lad and he probably assessed that I would make good. The days immediately following my marriage were spent with my in-laws in Sargodha.

On my return to Bhaun, a virulent plague epidemic had broken out. My mother told me that since I could not do any-thing to help in such a situation, I should go back to Sargodha and not risk my life.

Plague, in those days was a terrible killer and people naturally dreaded an epidemic, which often wiped out villages. Sadly, I left full of apprehension about my future.

In this mood of depression, I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper for the post of a junior clerk in a government offi ce. With Rs 25 in my pocket, which my mother had given me, I left for Simla to appear for the examination.

Unprepared as I was, I was unable to pass. This did not lessen my depression. My time was now spent walking around Simla and rambling in the countryside. Being the summer seat of the government of India, the town itself was full of high-ranking officers and members of the Viceroy's Council.

But the hillsides, beyond officialdom were beautiful and there were many walks where one could be alone with one's thoughts.

One day, as I was passing the Hotel Cecil, I suddenly had the urge to go in and try my luck. Those were the days when this hotel was one of India's leading hotels, high class and elegant. It was owned by the line of Associated Hotels of India.

As I entered, I found the manager himself in the foyer. I did not know who he was but one becomes bold in the face of difficulties. I had nothing to lose, so I went up and asked if I could have a job in the hotel.

The manager was a kindly English gentleman named D W Grove. I was also given the post of billing clerk at Rs 40 a month. Soon, my salary was raised to Rs 50.

At my request, on the plea of being married, I was also given living quarters. These were situated on the outer periphery of the hotel and were very humble indeed. When my wife joined me in Simla, we started to settle down in our modest home.

Here we were faced with the necessity of cleaning the place ourselves. The quarters were in a bad shape and far from clean, but we were thankful to have a roof over our heads.

We had to whitewash the walls ourselves, causing blisters on my hands and the consequent discomfort and embarrassment for me in the hotel work.

Soon after I joined the Cecil, there was a change of management. Mr Clarke succeeded Mr Grove as manager. For the first time a small piece of luck came my way.

My knowledge of stenography helped me take over the post of cashier and stenographer to Mr Clarke, and thus began my grounding on how hotels run. I worked and maintained an interest in my job. The fact that I knew my efforts were noted encouraged me.

It was while I was working in this capacity that Pandit Motilal Nehru came to stay at the Cecil, which was his usual place of residence when he came to Simla. He was then leader of the newly formed Swaraj Party but known throughout the country for having renounced a princely law practice to participate in the Freedom Movement with Mahatma Gandhi [ Images ].

Panditji had an important report, which needed to by typed speedily and with care. I sat up all night to complete the report and when I delivered it to him the next morning, he took out a hundred-rupee note and handed it to me with a word of thanks.

I am an emotional person and had received little kindness in my short life. This gesture of Panditji's brought tears to my eyes and I quickly left the room.

I could not have guessed then that I had met the father of the future prime minister of India, and that I myself would be one day a Member of Parliament during his leadership. One hundred rupees, which the wealthy throw away, was for me a fortune and made a big difference in my salary.

So high was the purchasing power of the rupee that I was able to buy a wristwatch for my wife, clothes for our baby and a much needed raincoat for myself.

In 1924, Mr Clarke decided to go into the hotel business for himself. His contract with the Associated Hotels of India had just ended. He obtained a catering contract for the Delhi [ Images ] Club and asked me if I could join him. I readily accepted the offer. My salary was now Rs 100.

The Delhi Club contract was only for a year and Mr Clarke soon began looking around for new business. The Carlton Hotel in Si mla was in liquidation. Mr Clarke was eager to lease it but guarantors were required.

Here I was able to help and thus discharge a part of the moral debt, which his kindness and consideration in the past had placed upon me.

I approached some of my relatives and friends who had means to assist with their co-operation. The Clarkes Hotel in Simla was opened. After five years, Mr Clarke decided to retire and sell out the hotel. He made me an offer saying he would prefer someone who could maintain the tradition and efficiency of the hotel to run it.

Acceptance meant that I would have to mortgage my few assets and my wife's jewellery in order to raise the necessary funds. However, I did not hesitate long.

The opportunity seemed almost a Godsend, as we Indians are a superstitious people. I took over the proprietorship of Clarkes Hotel with the help of a kind uncle who had stood by me in the past. I was now established in the Hotel business.

It is a strange coincidence that nearly every turn in my life has been associated with an epidemic of some sort. In 1933 there had been a cholera epidemic of vast proportions in Calcutta (now Kolkata [ Images ]). The Grand Hotel had been closed ever since, as more than a hundred foreign guests had died. People were afraid to visit Calcutta.

I happened to see the advertisement placed by the liquidators and immediately decided to take over the hotel if I could get in on low leasehold.

The price asked was Rs 10,000 rent a month plus compensation for the goodwill. In return I demanded compensation for the ill will generated by the hotel.

The rent was then dropped to Rs 7,000 a month. I agreed to this figure and had the place cleaned up and refurnished. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Calcutta was full of troops. The British Army was frantically trying to find accommodation.

I immediately improvised 1,500 beds for the troops at Rs 10 per head for board and lodging. I also appointed Mr Grove, who had been my first employer at the Cecil Hotel where he had engaged me on Rs 50 a month, on a monthly salary of Rs 1,500.

Taking over a cholera-ridden hotel had been a landmark in my career. The fact that I converted it and helped the Army in the time of stress and difficulty had come to the notice of the government. In 1941, I was awarded the title of Rai Bahadur by the government of India in recognition of the services to the Indian Hotel Industry.

From now on my good luck was assured and gradually I went on increasing the scope of my activities with, I hope benefit to many and much fulfilment to myself. Everything I did prospered.

In 1943, I bought out the controlling shareholdings of Associated Hotels of India Limited from Spencer & Company borrowing capital against the security of shares of the same company. In this way, I gained control over a big chain of hotels with establ-ishments in Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Muree and Delhi.

I employed as one of my general managers, the son of my former boss in Simla, Mr Falleti. The wheel had turned a full circle. I gradually added more hotels to my chain in Darjeeling, Chandigarh and Kashmir [ Images ]. I began to think of building my own hotels, and the first attempt was a small hotel in Gopalpur-on-Sea, in Orissa.

India was now independent. Horizons had widened. I began to feel the world was my oyster -- that I could succeed in anything I attempted. Fortunately, I also realised that it was not good enough to keep launching new ventures if old ones were allowed to suffer. Too often efficiency and high standards once established are taken for granted.

This is a great mistake and my constant aim has been to preserve the reputation of my hotels at the highest possible level. This pays many kinds of dividends. I was elected President of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India in April 1955, and in 1960. I was created President of Honour of the Federation for life.

My thoughts turned to politics. India was forging ahead. By the grace of God any my own continuous efforts, I had established myself in the profession of my choice. I felt I must enlarge the scope of my activities.

My main interest was building India amongst the top-most countries in the hotel expertise, also providing employment for improving the quality of life and helping the young.

I contested the Rajya Sabha election in 1962 and was successful. In 1967, I stood for the election for the Lok Sabha and won with a majority of over 46,000 votes -- not a bad record for a newcomer in politics.

I was able to open the Oberoi Intercontinental Hotel in 1965 -- a joint venture with Inter-continental Hotels Corporation and Pan American. Before this event could take place there were years of work and what some-times seemed innumerable difficulties. The reward for my labour comes through the fact that this hotel has become one of the most prestigious establishments in India.

My hotels continued to expand. Some people refer to them as my Empire. A hotel is a small nation in itself and a chain does perhaps merit the name of Empire. This empire is not an imperialistic one, but rather based on the idea of rendering service. This has always been my wish and my endeavour.

The latest additions are in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka [ Images ], Nepal, Gulf Area, Egypt [ Images ] and Africa. I must not forget to mention the 550 rooms Oberoi Sheraton in Bombay, going up to 30 floors -- the tallest building in India.

This has been no mean achievement for the village boy, who left his plague infested village in search of a job.

Preface note by Dr Gita Piramal, Managing Editor, The Smart Manager.

Mohan Singh Oberoi, 103, A Pioneer in Luxury Hotels

By PAUL LEWIS Published: May 04, 2002

Mohan Singh Oberoi, who as a penniless hotel clerk in Simla, India, mortgaged his wife's jewelry to buy the first hotel in an international luxury chain that bears his name, died yesterday at his home near New Delhi. He was 103, although for years he had said he was born in 1900 because he did not want to be seen as dating from the 19th century. He helped bring the Indian hotel industry into the 20th century, though he scandalized India when he first introduced chambermaids into the land of bearers, sweepers and stewards without number. Often called the Conrad Hilton of India, Mr. Oberoi specialized in spotting and refurbishing run-down and undervalued properties. With about 35 luxury hotels in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, Australia and Hungary, the Oberoi group became India's second-largest hotel company, after the Taj group, which belongs to the Tata conglomerate. Mr. Oberoi's business philosophy emphasized finding the right concept over financial calculations. ''You think of money and you cannot do the right thing,'' he used to say. ''But money will always come once you do the right thing, so the effort should be to do the right thing.'' He was a stickler for detail, down to the amount of down in every pillow and the exact length of the stem of every restaurant flower. But he was also a modernizer. As a young man he had scandalized his Sikh family by shaving off his beard. And in 1957, when he opened the Oberoi International in New Delhi, he brought in chambermaids with vacuum cleaners to replace the five or six male servants who usually served an Indian hotel room. ''Parliament shuddered in righteous indignation, honorable members conjuring up visions of lewd guests hollering 'As you make my bed, so shall you lie on it,' '' his biographer, Bachi Karkaria, wrote in ''Dare to Dream: A Life of Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi'' (Viking, 1992.) Mohan Singh Oberoi was born on Aug. 15, 1898, in Bhaun, a small village now in Pakistan. Driven out by plague with his new wife, the former Ishran Devi, in 1922, he sought work in Simla, the hill station where the British governed India during the stifling summer months. His well-knotted tie and shiny shoes impressed Ernest Clarke, the manager of Simla's best hotel, the Cecil, and he got a job as a hall clerk. He later became manager of Mr. Clerk's own smaller hotel and in 1930 mortgaged his wife's jewelry and borrowed everything he could to buy the British owner out. Later Mr. Oberoi was to buy the Cecil as well. In 1937, he took over Calcutta's once-elegant Grand Hotel, which had been closed for five years by fears of cholera in its water supply. Borrowing against his Simla property, he began a renovation program and eventually persuaded the first guest to move in, guaranteeing him soda water to drink and food cooked outside the hotel. The outbreak of World War II was a turning point in Mr. Oberoi's career. He prevented the British army from requisitioning the Grand by offering to reserve it for officers and feed them cheaply, though charging extra for women who spent the night. He then wrote to all the liquor merchants in India telling them to send supplies and name their prices. Business was brisk and profitable. ''Cashiers unable to count the money were shoving it under the carpet to resume the task next morning,'' Mr. Karkaria wrote in ''Dare to Dream.'' The British government rewarded him with the title Rai Bahadur for his services. Next, Mr. Oberoi began secretly buying shares in what was then India's leading hotel company, Associated Hotels of India Ltd. In 1944, he arrived uninvited at the annual meeting, carrying his controlling shares in a canvas bag, which he presented to the directors. The 1965 war between India and Pakistan cost Mr. Oberoi his four Pakistani hotels. Although the president of Pakistan, General Zia Ul-Haq, apparently promised to return them, he was killed before Mr. Oberoi could visit him.

Mr. Oberoi then began to expand abroad, often taking over management of run-down hotels or raising money from wealthy Saudi Arabians because of India's tight controls on capital outflows. Acquisitions included the Soaltee Hotel in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal; Mena House near the Egyptian pyramids; and the run-down Hotel Windsor in Melbourne, Australia. His elder son, Tilak Raj Sing, known as Tikki, died in 1984; his wife died four years later. He is survived by another son, Prithvi Raj Sing, and three daughters, Swaraj, Rajrani and Prem

The centennial Man

TNN | Sep 1, 2001, 01.01 PM IST

he had the determination. the dream and vision came thereafter. at 103, he's still ahead of his time. much ahead. his life has been a rollercoaster ride. but he never lost heart. even when the good old days were over and he was left with memories, sweet and sour. memories, that make a living legend. mohan singh oberoi the man behind the oberoi empire now spends most of his days in his room, refusing to wear his hearing aid or take help from his staff. for he's still a proud man. his suits now hang in the cupboards of his room. his son, prithvi raj singh (bikki) oberoi recalls how his father would buy at least three suits every time he went to england. "he had a thing for good suits and shoes. he always wore shoes with laces and ties that were unattached. he took no short-cuts." and that was a rule that he applied to his life. mohan singh oberoi has lived many lives in his 100 years: the boy from bhaun, who saw his mother struggling after his father's premature death; the lad who knocked at cecil's for a job in 1922 and bagged it at rs 50 a month. then he became master (of 30 hotels). but he didn't stop there. he took on a journey that was the beginning of an unbelievable success story. when he took independent charge of clarke's hotel, shimla and delhi in 1934, it was time to celebrate. he secretly hungered to fulfil greater dreams. and at 38, when calcutta's grand hotel was his, he knew he was king. looking back, oberoi's close friend, bk nehru, smiles as he remembers the first time he met him, at shimla. "in 1925, motilal nehru was staying at the cecil and i would go to meet him. i was impressed by the young mohan singh, who greeted me at the front desk every day. he was so methodical in his ways. i remember motilal gave him something to type and he did a wonderful job of it. motilal was so happy that he gave him a hundred rupee note." years later, they met again in washington: "that evening i gave him a glass of king's ransom whiskey, which he enjoyed tremendously. and thanked me for it years later." but then mohan singh oberoi always enjoyed the good things in life. he pampered his children. when money started flowing in, he lost count. "my father never bothered to find out how much money he had in his personal account," says bikki. when his sons, tikki and bikki, started spending too much money, he covered for them: "they have a rich father, i didn't." but then they weren't easy kids. "but he never complained." oberoi was always particular about everything he did. he wooed life in style. the big man always wore a well-ironed suit, even on sundays. he still hates wearing any jewellery. till date, he's never worn a wristwatch, it was always a pocket watch for him. in 1968, when he was bidding for the oberoi towers, mumbai, he filled in the tender himself. of course, they paid an 'awesome' price of rs 25 crore for it, "but the gamble paid off," says bikki. later on, the oberoi towers became their goldmine. occasionally over a drink, jrd tata and ms oberoi had a 'heart-to-heart' about their life and passions. they admired each other's integrity. "you can't buy reputation," ms oberoi would often be heard saying. it was his reputation that made him popular. students of the oberoi school of management often came to his house for tea. today one of them, sanjiv malhotra, is vice-president of the oberoi towers, mumbai. "his house was open on saturday afternoon for us. we would meet him informally and listen to his life story." his is a story that inspires. it dares you to dream. what does mohan singh oberoi's legacy mean? "his legacy isn't just the hotels. his life has been a living example that nothing is impossible. persistence brings success. his legacy is for the world to see and learn."

famoushotels | biographies The story of the Oberoi emporium is the saga of a famous family, an important part of the heritage of India.

1972: M S Oberoi (left) meets president Sadat of Egypt (right) at the Mena House hotel. For both men the hotel was an object of prestige. Nasser needed a huge convention centre with a world class hotel attached to it. For Oberoi, Mena House was like the old Grand in Calcutta: a gem. He would make Mena House a landmark in restoration. A substantial sum would have to be spent to restore the hotel. Oberoi could not pitch in with any capital, but guaranteed a six per cent return on investment to the owning company Upper-Egypt Hotel Company and EGOTH The Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels. Early Years of Mohan Singh Oberoi

1900: Mohan Singh was born on 15 August 1900. He grew up in Bhaun, a small city of some 8,000 inhabitants in Punjab, now in Pakistan. At 14 MS went to the Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) School in Rawalpindi, chosen by his mother for its balanced mix of tradition and modernity. In Rawalpindi he saw two firsts: the first Englishman and the first hotel, Flashmans. 1901: Death of MSs father, a 20 year old Sikh by the name of Sardar Attar Singh. 1916: After passing his matriculation exam, MS went to law school in Lahore, where he moved in with the family of Sardar Singh, his father's brother. His uncle was the proprietor of a flourishing shoe-factory, which gave MS exposure to the world of production and business. 1918: Half way to his bachelors degree, MS decided to abandon his studies in order to work in his uncles factory. A lthough initially not supportive of the move, MSs uncle offered him a managerial position. However, times in India were uncertain and MSs early career fell victim to wave the unrest and protest that was spread across the subcontinent. 1919: The shoe factory shut down after people were shot in Amritsar, causing widespread chaos. First steps in the hotel trade 1920: At the age of 20 MS returned home and married the 15 year old Ishran Devi. Shortly after the wedding the shoe factory reopened and MS was eager to get back to Lahore. He burnt his bridges, however, by shaving off his beard, which offended his Sikh family and put an end to any chance of working for his uncle again. More woe followed when an epidemic broke out in Bhaun and MS was forced to flee along with his wife and small daughter. He arrived in Simla, where managed to get a 50 rupee-per -month job as a clerk at Falettis Cecil Hotel. At first his brief was to keep track of the hotels coal supplies and other deliveries of goods. Quickly impressing, he climbed to the position of guest clerk. 1923: MS was a quick learner, grasping social nuances as well as the nitty-gritty of hotel management and he could not have found better role models than the privileged guests of Cecils. He took on the responsibility of cashier. 1924: Birth of MS son Tilak Raj, TR (Tikki). By then MS was earning 60 rupees a month. 1927: Ernest Clarke, then manager of the Cecil Hotel, was offered a 1 year contract to manage the Delhi Club and asked MS to come along and join him there. MS accepted. It was a reckless decision, leaving an established chain for an uncertain future, but he had faith.Clarkes Hotel, Simla. 1929: Birth of MSs second son Prithvi Raj Singh, PRS (Biki). That same year, MS followed Clarke to the run -down 50-room Carlton in Simla. Clarke leased it from the bank for 9,000 rupees a year and renamed it Clarkes Hotel. 1930: On March 17 1930 MS was made a partner at Clarkes. He convinced Clarke to buy out the property instead of leasing it. They bought the hotel for 135,000 rupees, some 40,000 rupees less than the it was worth. The Delhi contractor Sardar Bahadur Narain Singh (who built The Imperial in Delhi) agreed to loan the money, if the property was mortgaged in the name of his son Jagjit. 1931: Occupancy of Clarkes had doubled to 80 % since the takeover. MS was advertising: Under European Management. But debts were mounting too as the lease of the Carlton had also come with the struggling Grand Hotel in Delhi. Ernest and Gertie Clarke usually spent the winter in Delhi, while MS and his cousin Partap Singh Dhall were in charge of the Simla hotel. 1933-34: Ernest Clarke was in big financial trouble and MS had to come up with a plan to save the hotels. Clarke died shortly after and MS bought his shares from his widow for 20,000 rupees, loaning the money from a relative, Rai Bahadur Kapur. 1934: On 14 August MS became the sole proprietor of Clarkes Hotel Delhi and Simla. That day he said to his daughter Rajrani: Just wait, bitti, when you grow up, wherever you go there will be an Oberoi Hotel. Grand, Calcutta 1936: Having paid back all the loans on Clarkes, MS was by chance offered the Grand in Calcutta, which had belonged to the A rmenian real estate tycoon Stephen Arathoon and was in a state of decline. 1937-8: MS negotiated with the Mercantile Bank, liquidators of the estate of Stephen Arathoon, for a reduction of the Simla hotel lease. One condition was that a European manager should be appointed so MS brought in his former employer at the Cecil, DW Grove. Also coming in were: Shiv Nath Singh, owner of the Palace Hotel, Karachi, Katchand Kapur and Dr Hari Ram. With 25,000 rupees each in a partnership of four, they formed Hotel Pvt Ltd in 1938. to take the management lease for the Grand. On Dec 21 1938 the hotel reopened for business. 1940: Rajrani, eldest daughter of MS, wedded Colonel JC Kapur, nephew of Kahnchand Kapur at the Grand in Calcutta.1940-42: Profits were low and MS had to persuade his partners not to pull out of their investment by promising that not only would he share the profits but also singly bear all losses. Meanwhile, the war came to Calcutta, which along with Kandy, Ceylon became a centre of operations for the eastern theatre. Tens of thousands of men arrived en route to battles in Burma, the Philippines and Singapore. Ironically, this influx saved the Grand. Rai Bahadur & The Imperial, Delhi1943: MS was presented with the title Rai Bahadur (pater familiae) by His Majesty the King. That same year, MS annexed the Associated Hotels of India chain and rented Delhis Hotel Imperial. 1944: At The Imperial, MS installed the custom of having a tall, stately Sikh doorman, in the full regalia of a viceregal bodyguard. A new menu was introduced into Oberoi hotels, including mince cutlets, custard c ream, charcoal grill and the flamb at the Imperials Tavern. Delhi got its very first pasta, minestrone and pizza (now Punjabi pizza with chaat masala).Also that year, MS daughter -in-law Leela, who was in Paris for medical treatment, searched for a new French chef for The Imperial. After looking at Monsieur Gateau, chef of the Meurice Hotel, she finally chose Roger Moncourte. Madame, I dont care about le salaire, but I must have good cooking wine, he said upon accepting the job. 1947: MS bought out the property of the Grand for 89 lakh rupees, then paid off Kapur, Dr Rim and finally Shiv Nath. Oberoi Expansion1947: The Oberoi Palm Beach opened.1948: Tikki and his friend Ripu Bhagat set up a travel agency, Mercury Travels. Tikki quickly lost interest so his sister Swaraj and her husband Gautam Khanna took over the business.

1949: On 26 May MS floated The East India Hotels Ltd (EIHL), named after the East India Company. Associated Hotels of India merged with EIHL. Although the company was public, there were just a few subscribers: Oberoi himself, his son Tilak Raj, Motilal Khaitan, Ripu Bhagat, N Haksar, E Brett and Man Singh. It would not go truly public till 1956. 1950 Gautam, son of Savitri Khanna, fell in love with Oberois daughter Swaraj. MS could spot a human beings potential as well as he could a hotels. He asked him to join his family and soon his business. He would later become Bikis right hand man. 1951 MS bought the second Arathoon hotel in Darjeeling, the 65 room Everest Hotel.1952: The partnership of Hotel Pvt.Ltd, founded in 1938, was dissolved. That year also saw the Oberoi family embark on an around-the-world tour stopping at Paris, London, NY etc and staying at the most exclusive hotels such as the George V, Dorchester, and Waldorf. For MS it was a fact-finding mission.Mid-50s: The Oberois moved from Calcutta to Delhi. The family moved into Maidens while Tikki set himself up in a lavish suite at The Imperial. 1955: MS took his first trip to Kashmir / Srinagar. For a fee of 5,000 rupees per month for 20 years, he bought the former Palace of the Maharajah Hari Singh, who had abdicated in favour of his son. The palace had been empty for a decade. It had a billiards room, a gun room, dozens of bedrooms and drawing rooms, grand audience halls, but just 10 bathrooms, some without doors. Oberoi bought back the whole furniture.That same year, Biki returned home from his studies in London and his master courses in haute cuisine at Lausanne. 1956: MS bought the Swiss Hotel opposite Maidens. It had once been the residence of Lord Curzon, was now owned by the Chunamals, an old Delhi family and leased by them by Steiner, formerly Associated Hotels. That year also saw the wedding of Tilak Raj Oberoi and Leela Naidu on 16. July. He was 33, she 17. Her father was a nuclear physicist, Science Director for UNESCO for South East Asia. 1957: MSs youngest daughter Prem married Captain KK Mehra. 1958: Dispute at The Imperial over money: MS rented out every corridor to shops at the hotel, making more money per shop than he needed to pay for the lease of the whole hotel. The landlord Saradar Bahadur took him to court and reclaimed the hotel, demanding that it be given back in the same state Oberoi had received it. MS removed everything: linen, cutlery or porcelain, carpets, furniture, paintings, chandeliers as well as bathroom fittings the marble cladding, the toilets and the airconditioning ducts. This brought the Oberoi period at The Imperial to an end. 1959: Biki married Goodie, the daughter of a Punjabi landowner of Lyalpur. 1964: Tikki proposed to the Teuton daughter of Ludwig Mittel Huber, the blonde Jutta. Tikki was a polo playing prince with a royal lifestyle. 1965: Tikki and Juttas son Arjun was born. Oberois dream hotel, Intercontinental Hotel, opened. Unfortunately it coincided with the first Ind o-Pakistan war. 1966: MS wanted to build a new 34 or 36 storey hotel and found a suitable plot of (expensive) land in Bombay. He entered into cooperation with ITT Sheraton. It was a project of great scale: the longest lobby in India, and ebony black Watco oil -finished wood. The design consultant was Dale Keller & Associates. Also that in 66, Oberoi started a hotel management school in India. The Intercontinental F&B manager Sven Jorgensen was in charge of the school. It germinated at the Imperial Hotel, grew at the Intercontinental and then flourished into a sprawling institution at Maidens. Thousands applied for the 300 seats every year straight out of college. 1969: Oberoi took over his organisations first international venture: the Kathmandu Soaltee Hotel in Nepal, owned by Prince of Himalaya, the uncle of King Mohendra. Thus the Oberoi Group became an exporter of know-how at a time when India was not considered an expert in any entrepreneurial area. In December 1969 the Oberoi Soaltee opened. That same year, Oberoi took over the management of Singapores Imperial Hotel, wh ere the first Oberoi Intercontinental manager William Land was working. The hotel was in a mess. It would stay under Oberoi until 1986. 1970: The Indian Government insisted that MS take up a project in Zanzibar, to complete a hotel for the islands National Day . The Oberoi Group had no saying in the building of the structure. MS made an honourable retreat as soon as he could. Indeed, Africa remained an impenetrable area for the chain, as did Latin America. Mena House 1971: After a trip to London, Gautam Khanna stopped off in Egypt to scout business opportunities. On an excursion to the Pyramids in Giza, he stumbled on the dilapidated Mena House an institution that was to hotel keeping what the Orient Express was to trains. MS travelled to Egypt immediately and found Mena House to be just like the old Grand in Calcutta and Gulab Bhawan in Kashmir. Mena House was owned by the Upper Egypt Company which had taken over the nationalized hotel from its previous Jewish owners, the Nungovich Company. One evening MS was introduced t o Amr el Alfi, Egypts leading architect interior decorator, who put him in touch with the Minister of Tourism, Zaki Hashmi. A substantial sum of money would need to spend to restore Mena House to its former glory. Oberoi could not pitch in with any capital, but guaranteed a six per cent return on investment to the hotels owners. The new Elephantine Hotel in Aswan was also part of the deal.MS handpicked Rattan Tata, one of the brightest sparks in the Oberoi group from Singapores Imperial, to front the Mena House operation. 1972: The Oberoi Sheraton Bombay was ready to be opened to the public. In December, the first tourist group to arrive were Japanese. Meanwhile, at Mena House, Rattan Tata introduced the countrys first discotheque, the Saddle. Mena House was also the chosen venue for the Egypt-Israel talks, following an war Sadats peace initiative. International Expansion 1972: Mena House was an open sesame to the Arab world. Negotiations for the Baghdad Al Rashid Hotel began in the 1970s when Iran & Iraq were already at war. Oberoi would take on the management for 5 years, till Saddam Hussein decided that a foreign group running a hotel where state guests stayed did not quite gel with national pride. The group retained a presence at the Oberoi Babylon, on the banks of the Tigris.

1973: On April 7 the Oberoi Sheraton in Bombay officially opened. The cost of the project had risen from the initial estimate of 70 million rupees to 180 million rupees. 1973: Oberoi began building his first hotel outside India: the Lanka Oberoi. It was an Atrium design by the Armenian Group of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. At that time the Hyatt in Atlanta was the only other hotel featuring this concept. 1975: The Lanka Oberoi opened. 1976: The Windsor in Melbourne came into Oberois sights. Dating from the 1880s, it h ad become something of a white elephant to its owners. The Australian government had taken over the hotel until Rai Bahadur, then 80 years old, won the bid to lease it for two years with an option for 20 more. Australias worst racism surfaced. The Windsor goes to an Indian, howled the press. 1977: A cooperation begun between Oberoi and the Arab Sheik Ali Tanuimi. 1978: The Bali Oberoi opened its doors. 1980: Unveiling of The Windsor Jewel in the Oberoi Crown. That same year, Ratan Tata moved to Dhahtan to head a company called Saudi Oberoi. 1981: The first achievement of Ratan Tatas Saudi Oberoi company was the Dammam Oberoi - 300 rooms, 40 suites: the finest hotel in the Gulf Kingdom. 1984: Death of Tikki. Cecils closed down. 1985: Egypt presented Rai Bahadur with its coveted Order of the Republic First Class award: two massive stars of gold for having promoted modern tourism in the ancient land of Misr. 1986: MS withdrew Oberoi from the management contract of The Imperial in Singapore. 1987: Biki spotted a European property in Budapest. The only problem was it happened to be the headquarter of the secret police. 1991: Oberoi signed the agreement for the Oberoi Gresham Palace in Budapest. Unfortunately things went wrong and the hotel ul timately opened as the Four Seasons Grisham Palace in 2004. 1988: On November 2 Ishran Devi died. 2002: MS Oberoi passed away, leaving a massive legacy to his family and to the world of hospitality. 2009: Irishman Liam lambert becomes CEO of the Oberoi Group. ++++++++++