VALUE ADDITION - 4:

ENHANCING CONTEMPORARY EXPERIENCE TO GUESTS 

BY P S SUNDAR

The latest happening at Orchid Square Boutique Hotel in Coonoor is the enhancement of contemporary experience to guests – locals and tourists.

Three major developments ensure this.

First, the creation of Selfie corners.   “In the context of increased passion to take Selfies, especially among the youth, we have created attractive spots within the hotel premises to help guests enjoy Selfies”, Orchid Managing Director Sudarshan Motwani told me.

The ‘Selfie Corner’ has Orchid flower, flower cart, glass exposure and transparent view of the hotel exterior.

“Interestingly, we give on hire many props to enhance the ‘Selfie’ experience.   These include coloured wigs, goggles, masks, frames marked with ‘Instagram’, ‘Wanted’, ‘Bride to be’ and the like.  There is enormous response to this”, Motwani disclosed.

The second is the ‘Live portrait counter’.  Here, Raj, young artist from Delhi, assures guests to draw their live picture in 20 minutes time. 

“He does it with charcoal pencil.   The guests have to sit in front of him for 20 minutes and they can walk out with their portrait framed, ready-to-hang and handed over with sweet memories of theri visit to the Nilgiris”, Motwani described.

“This is equally a favourite among children.  Parents are excited to have their children drawn live”, he noted.

The third is a unique experience in dining offered at ‘Grill to chill’ open-to-sky roof top feasting facility. 

The sheltered dining hall is decorated with snow-type ceiling falls to give a unique feeling.

“We have kept tastefully decorated ‘flower carts’ with varieties of bloom to create a happy ambience to guests who enjoy taking numerous photos with all flowers in all carts”, Motwani said.

Being roof-top, guests get a view of the surrounding scenery.  And, located as it does on the way to Coonoor’s popular picnic attractions of Lamb’s Rock, Lady Canning Seat, Dolphin’s Nose and tea estates, these contemporary additions attract more tourists to stay and dine at Orchid.  

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com) 

VALUE ADDITION -- 3:

DROUGHT IMPACT -- HOW DO HOTELS FACE WATER SHORTAGE IN THE NILGIRIS?

BY P S SUNDAR.

The hospitality sector in the Nilgiris holding investments worth about Rs 250 crore is facing a big challenge this summer season – acute scarcity of water.

“Shortage of rain apart, we are concerned that the civic authorities had not heeded to our repeated plea to dredge all reservoirs during the prolonged dry period, which means, when rain comes, substantial water will continue to run waste as holding capacity remains limited due to silt accumulation”, N Chandra Shekar, Secretary, Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Association, told me.

“Since mercury is already soaring to intolerable levels in many places in the plains, tourists are flocking in the Nilgiris even before the onset of summer festivities in May.  We expect higher inflow once schools close.  Order books of most hotels show that there is substantial increase in demand this summer”, he disclosed.

“Hotels do not have in-house self sufficiency in water and so are purchasing water from private vendors on a regular basis.  Depending upon the distance, use of motors and the volume ordered, hotels are paying ` 900 to Rs 1,100 per supply of 6,000 litres.  However, this supply is also facing problem due to shortage of rains”, he noted.

“What is worse, Ooty municipality has hiked the water tax for hotels this fiscal almost eight times the old level.   Due to increased competition even from unlicensed cottages, hotels continue with the tariff fixed way back in 2012”, Chandra Shekar lamented.

Nilgiris Collector Dr P Sankar said that he was liaising with hotels to help them get adequate water for the summer demand.   “In Coonoor where there is acute scarcity, we have dug six bore-wells which will supply three lakh litres daily.  We have also increased the withdrawal from Guerensey and Bellatimattam reservoirs”, he said.

The Taj group of hotels is facing the challenge with conservation measures as well.   “We have erected huge rainwater harvesting facility which helps a lot when it rains.  We have dug open wells in our marshy land elsewhere and are bringing in this ground water”, said R Muralidharan, General Manager, Taj Gateway Hotel, Coonoor.

“But, our focus is on conservation.  We have erected water treatment plants where we recycle the used water which we reuse in our gardens and grow, inter alia, trees to induce rains.  In the kitchen, we adopt a ‘Three Sink’ concept – wash, rinse and sanitise – helping to reduce the consumption of water. In our laundry, maximum load running for minimal water usage is followed. In the banquet, we supply water in smaller volumes to avoid wastage”, he said.

R Muralidharan, General Manager, Taj Gateway Hotel, Coonoor, explaining the water conservation method at the in-house laundry unit. 

“We advise guests to be choosy in throwing linens and towels for washing.  We have erected sensors to reduce water wastage and in the rooms, bath-tubs have been replaced with showers.  Even in the car-parking, we have erected multi-lingual boards to sensitise drivers on water saving”, he noted.

R Muralidharan, GM, Water treatment plant at Taj Gateway Hotel, Coonoor. 

“All these have helped us to serve guests without their feeling much of scarcity even as there is cost-saving for the hotel”, Muralidharan detailed.   

Tourism in the Nilgiris is related to nature and parks.  “We are facing acute water shortage to maintain parks.  We are buying water to irrigate the plants and lawns whenever required to ensure that the summer festivities including the world-famous Ooty Flower Show on May 19, 20 and 21 go on with pleasant memories for tourists”, N Mani, Joint Director of Horticulture, Nilgiris district, said.

“Tamil Nadu Government has declared all districts including the Nilgiris as drought-hit.  We have distributed relief fund to farmers”, he said.

Coonoor is facing acute scarcity of drinking water with the municipality supplying water only once in three weeks.  “When supplied, households stock water in all available containers, including tumblers!”, lamented S Manogaran, President, Coonoor Consumer Protection Association.  

“But, we are concerned about water wastage through leaking pipes remaining unattended to despite repeated representations”, he added.

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

VALUE ADDITION -- 2 :

TAJ GATEWAY PARTNERING WITH THE EYE FOUNDATION FOR EYE CARE

BY P S SUNDAR

When Taj Gateway Hotel, Coonoor, joined hands with The Eye Foundation Ooty in the conduct of eye-care camps, it was more than a welfare measure for its employees because the beneficiaries included the community around.

“We conducted this camp as part of our ‘Tata Voluntary Week’ (TVW) celebrations aimed at creating a healthier community around us.  So, while our employees and their families got examined, our staff showed voluntary involvement in personally reaching out to the needy, especially the poor deserted senior citizens”, Gateway General Manager R Muralidharan told me.

“We offered professional eye health check-up to the beneficiaries through the team from The Eye Foundation in two sessions – one in our hotel campus where the community around us, especially those in Church Hill residential area, got screened for eye health.  In the second session, our employees took the team from The Eye Foundation to Anbalayam Old Age Home in Denalai village where all the inmates – the deserted senior citizens – received professional screening and the necessary consultations”, Muralidharan disclosed.

That is what makes TVW different from staff welfare schemes – here, while the staff stand to benefit, they act as volunteers in taking the welfare measures out to the community.   

“Besides screening vision, we gave professional consultations and have offered support for further treatment including surgeries to the needy.  Our Chief Dr Girish Reddy and Dr Mugdha Kumar will perform surgeries at our Ooty branch hospital”, Dr Jetanshu Kaush of The Eye Foundation, who led the team at the camps, said.

“All the welfare measures we had extended through TVW all these years had been well received by the community.  The endeavour had given all our associates a tremendous mental satisfaction of being use to the needy in the sphere it is sought.  Now, for the current eye-care scheme, we have sponsored spectacles and medicines to the needy and will support follow-up treatment”, Gateway Human Resource Manager D Antony Gerald noted.

“Since its inception in Ooty in 2011, The Eye Foundation has conducted several camps resulting in about two lakh people from about 450 places in the Nilgiris getting free services”, said India’s renowned ophthalmologist Dr D Ramamurthy, who had established The Eye Foundation in 1984 at Coimbatore.

“Besides camps in villages, we visit Wellington Cantonment Hospital on Wednesdays (which covers one lakh population) and RKC Clinic at Kotagiri on Thursday (which covers 80,000 population). We hold special camps every year at Govt Cordite Factory, Aruvankadu.  We have also conducted seven camps so far in tea estates in Kotagiri where poor have benefited from our surgeries as well”, he said.  

Interestingly, The Eye Foundation has conducted several camps in hotels where besides the employees and nearby community, hotel guests have also benefited.

Over a million patients have got treated for various eye diseases in the portals of The Eye Foundation in Coimbatore and branches of Ooty, Tirupur, Mettupalayam, Bangalore and Kochi.

“Among the reasons for choosing our services are affordability, all types of surgeries being done, no hospital admission for regular surgeries, no stitching, no pain no bed rest for cataract surgeries, and spectacles – lens and frame included – from Rs 750 being supplied”, Dr Ramamurthy explained.       

He disclosed, “To enable comprehensive eye evaluation, we have facilities including

a) LASIK/bladeless LASIK (Intralase) treatment for myopia (near vision), hyperopia

(Distance vision) and astigmatism (blurred vision) .

b) Phakic intraocular lens for high myopia.

c) Suture less cataracts surgery with latest sovereign phaco emulsification system.

d) State of the art glaucoma and vitreo-retina services.

e) Squint and low vision aids clinic.

f) Corneal transplantation.

g) Contact lens clinic.

h) Computer vision clinic.

i) Headache clinic”.

“In the last six years of functioning in Ooty, we have conducted 2,449 surgeries including 2,155 cataract”, he said.

“The doctors of The Eye Foundation Ooty regularly create awareness on eye donation. We have all facilities available to harvest eyes on call. Our expert team visits the place immediately on receiving call and arrange for the transplantation to the needy one”, Dr Ramamurthy added. 

Dr D RAMAMURTHY

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

CELEBRATIONS-- 13:

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY AT TAJ GATEWAY COONOOR ..

"BE BOLD FOR CHANGE"..

BY P S SUNDAR

Women employees of Taj Gateway Hotel Coonoor got an orientation on self-defence on March 8 as part of International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations.

Karate Master Sensi P Balamurali demonstrated with his student defence strategies to overcome attacks and made women employees perform under his training.

“This is in line with our preparing our associates towards the UN theme for this year’s IWD: ‘Be bold for change’. We stress on physical boldness for women associates to fight against violence and mental boldness to take effective decisions at work, home and society”, Gateway General Manager R Muralidharan told me.   

“This has become necessary in the backdrop of increasing incidences of violence against women and the latest report of about 53 per cent of children in India being subject to violence in some form”, I said in my Chief Guest address.

Tracking the birth and growth of International Women’s Day from 1908 till now, I gave an outline as to the engagement women have in various spheres politics, aeronautics, defence, air force fighter piloting, all-women banks, all-women police stations, train driving etc etc ., besides traditional jobs like teaching, nursing and medicine.

“Progressive-bent companies have embarked on voluntary measures over and above Equal Remuneration Act  as Tatas care from child birth to elderly. Taj hotels grant even paternity leave to make men employees share delivery task with their wives.   In our fight to uphold womanhood today, we need a preventive and pro-active approach”, I noted.

Women associates staged various performances highlighting the significance of their role at work and in society.

General Manager Muralidharan honoured the women associates with mementoes and sumptuous lunch .. 

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOOD -- 9:

HOME-STYLE BADAGA COOKING, A FAVOURITE WITH TOURISTS

BY P S SUNDAR

We had highlighted the prominence of home-style cooking in Taj group of hotels in different posts in this Blog. 

Here is a treatise on the latest happening as seen on this New Year Day -- January 1, 2017:: 

On New Year day, tourists from different parts of the country and some foreigners were seen crowding R Jayalakshmi at Taj Savoy Hotel, Ooty, watching her prepare Aappam with sweetened coconut milk and engaging in conversation with her on this delicacy.

Jayalakshmi is not like other permanent cooks of Taj but is engaged daily for her home-style cooking.

“She is a housewife belonging to Badaga, the predominant community of Nilgiris, and we are committed, as part of our corporate social reasonability, to support Badaga women with opportunity to popularise their traditional cuisine”, Taj Savoy General Manager P Vibhakar told Express.

Passionate about her assignment, Jayalakshmi travels by two buses daily to reach the hotel from her village Bickole, a small hamlet 20 kilometres away from Ooty.

“Visitors enjoy seeing me cook on stove live in the restaurant, they take photos and collect from me recipes”, a beaming Jayalakshmi said.

“I cook different items daily like kara paniyaram, thithippu paniyaram, Ubbittu, Dhotti, thuppathittu, aappam, rava laddu, Kothumai dosai and thithippu puff.   I cook in the same way it is done in our Badaga community homes”, she said.

“Our Avara Othukka and Badaga Thali cooked homes-style are a favourite even with foreigners”, Executive Chef Nisi Kant Panigrahi added.

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

CELEBRATIONS -- 12:

WELCOMING 2017 AT TAJ SAVOY OOTY

BY P S SUNDAR

Three aspects stood out at the 2017 New Year eve celebrations at Taj Savoy Hotel, Ooty – adaptability to India’s new economy, eco-friendly theme through bread and salad display and employee families’ inclusiveness in celebrations.

Since the demonetisation of some currencies on November 8, 2016, business has not been usual for all sectors including the hospitality and sufferings worsened with cash-crunch followed by excessive monitoring of bank accounts by tax authorities.  Hotels are known to work on less cash (though not totally cashless!) systems but ‘travel less’ attitude of people definitely hits their business.  To that extent, managements passed through uncertainties in deciding on New Year celebrations.

It was, therefore, refreshing that tourists and residents welcomed 2017 with enthusiasm in the Nilgiris on December 31, 2016 night.  Churches were tastefully illuminated and Christians attended midnight mass braving biting cold as temperature nosedived to 5 degrees Celsius in Coonoor and Ooty. Hotels threw up dance and dining facilities to tourists who included foreigners.

“Although our business has always been card-oriented, demonetisation and cash crunch caused lot of uncertainties last one month as people, including foreigners refrained from travelling and cancelled bookings.  However, tourist inflow peaked just before New Year making the celebrations a big hit”, P Vibhakar, General Manager Taj Savoy Ooty told me.

To make the event memorable, Vibhakar’s team put up a well-organised music and dancing get-together under the protected cover of colourful shamiana with DJ and MC.  

The team members ensured the comfort of the guests, mostly tourists from other parts of the country and staying at Savoy.  

There was red-hot raw fire oven-tray to keep the enclosure warm.

The facade and the heritage buildings’ edges were tastefully illuminated to bring cheerful light to all in the New Year.

There were many games and competitions for which prizes were liberally given which included free stay at many Taj hotels.   All – elders, men, women and children – had something to keep themselves engaged while welcoming 2017.

Vibhakar is known to promote employee interests by projecting their contributions and taking a ‘supportive platform’ role.   He exhibited another dimension to this by inviting the families of departmental heads to join the New Year celebrations creating an-inclusive ambience for those who can.   The family members who attended were thrilled to see the happenings themselves resulting in a greater appreciation of the work done by their own kith as employee of Savoy. They joined in wishing other employees and guests ‘a very happy 2017’.

Vibhakar’s another landmark for the occasion came in the form of theme-oriented feast.   “Wilfred is a third-generation baker chef from Ooty.  So, we used him to develop an exhibition of bread verities for this celebration.  We chose eco-friendliness as the theme for our bread salad display”, he told me.

“We prepared the breads with hand-made shapes of sun, moon, earth, river and forms of nature”, Savoy Executive Chef Nisi Kant Panigrahi said.

“There are as many as 20 varieties of bread in display here – rum and resin, regular focassia, panini, ginger bread, garlic, oregano, rosemary and olive, lavash, water melon seeds, white and blue sesame, regular bread sticks, sesame bread sticks, bread rolls, ginger and thyme, cumin, whole wheat, multigrain, sugar-bread, butter-bread and oats”, he detailed.

The salad display also evoked keen interest among visitors.   “We have created a ‘Nilgiri Vegetable market’ for eco-friendly and garden-fresh salad experience”, Chef Nisi Kant told me.

“On display here are 15 varieties of salads and they have been split into 10 vegetarian and 5 non-vegetarian preparations.  We provide a unique experience with 10 varieties of dressings – Spanish, mustard, Mexican , Thousand Islands, Brazilian, Oriental garlic, Indian tamarind, Singapore milk cream, Honey lemon and Honey chilli”, he detailed.

The dinner spread itself was exhaustive.   “Overall, six starters, five varieties of cheese, two soups, 8 vegetarian, 5 non-vegetarian, 6 rice accompaniments and 8 desserts besides the bread and salad displays mark our New Year eve dinner”, Nisi Kant said.

And, when the clock struck 12 .. after the 10 second count-down, “Happy New Year” rent the air all over Savoy.    Everyone was seen wishing every other, creating an overall satisfaction among the guests and concomitantly marking the success for Vibhakar’s team in organising yet another grand show ..

HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS 2017 !! 

     

 (response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

PROFILE -- 5 ::

VIJAYAN OF TAJ VIVANTA, EXECUTIVE CHEF FOR 22 YEARS!!

BY P S SUNDAR

B C Kumar, General Manager, Vivanta Surya Coimbatore by Taj, is known to support food promotions by building a committed team of kitchen and service professionals.  My treatise on his profile appears in this Blog separately.  

This highlight is on his Executive Chef H N Vijayan who has been with Coimbatore Vivanta since its inception in 2011.

Thirty four years ago, Vijayan graduated from IHMCT and started his career with Vivanta by Taj President, Mumbai.  There has been no looking back since then.  Even by 1994, he has been designated ‘Executive Chef’ by the Taj group – that means, he has been an Executive Chef for 22 years by now.   That itself speaks about his managerial capacity in Food and Beverage department.

He has worked in several Taj properties across the nation which gave him opportunities to showcase his best to cuisine lovers.   And, among the extraordinary opportunities he lists are catering to Prince Charles of the UK and being the official team leader for catering to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during SAARC summit in Sri Lanka in 2008.  

Known to be an ardent promoter of theme cuisines, he is remembered for his successful promotion of Chettinad food in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Singapore.  He had specialised in Chettinad preparations for seven years at Taj Connemara, Chennai.

Chef Vijayan specialised in Ethnic Kerala cuisine in Taj Vivanta, Thiruvananthapuram.  

At Vivanta Coimbatore, he has introduced Ramasseri idli as live presentation during breakfast in the restaurant.   This speciality of Ramasseri village near Elappally near Palakkad has become a favourite among guests from all over to Vivanta Coimbatore.

Chef Vijayan, who himself belong to Badaga community of the Nilgiris, is also hailed for introducing Badaga regional cuisine at Vivanta Coimbatore with Kumar’s guidance.

“We have now introduced Kongunadu cuisine in regional home-style cooking.  This includes many traditional Kongu-style vegetarian and non-vegetarian preparations as done in the homes of Coimbatore and surrounding areas”, Chef Vijayan told me.   

Today Chef Vijayan is hailed to have standardised the South Indian dishes across all Vivanta hotels of the Taj group.

“Among my mentionable contributions is the Intensive Training Kitchen Programme where we have developed young chefs specialising in south Indian cuisine.  It is six-month intensive training programme for less-educated under-privileged rural youngsters for sustainable career in food and beverage.   We have placed early 30 such candidates in various Taj hotels across the country”, noted a very satisfied Chef Vijayan.

“I focus on innovation like developing Chef calendar for gift to all departments.  I update knowledge through various sources and even by direct experience of eating at different restaurants.  I lay necessary accent on hygiene and develop many home-style cooking ingredients.  Equally significant is my obsession with cost and food wastage control as they are required not only for the hotel but the country as a whole”, sums up Chef Vijayan.  

     

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)