History
The Cecil had quite modest beginnings in 1883 as a one storied house, the Tendril Cottage with its famed inhabitant- Rudyard Kipling. It is claimed that Rudyard Kipling frequented the house where he wrote his novels, including “Plain tales from the Hills”, inspired by Shimla.
Mohan Singh Oberoi arrived in Shimla in 1922, when after numerous owners the Cecil was bring run by John Faletti. Thus began an enduring legacy. Mohan Singh Oberoi quickly rose up the ranks and formed a strong relationship with the new manager Mr. Ernest Clarke.
Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi acquired the Cecil as a part of the acquisition of the Associated Hotels of India in 1944. Soon, The Cecil became the address that every one wanted to be seen at. The famous Balls and Floor shows and Lola, the dancer added to the charm of the hotel.
The hotel was closed in 1984 for extensive renovation and refurbishment and was reopened in 1997, restored to a style befitting its past glory, worthy of the Oberoi’s present.
Read more about this topic: The Cecil
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“It gives me the greatest pleasure to say, as I do from the bottom of my heart, that never in the history of the country, in any crisis and under any conditions, have our Jewish fellow citizens failed to live up to the highest standards of citizenship and patriotism.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)