Taj Reopening Today

Amid much public attention, the Taj hotel in Mumbai will reopen on Sunday. But before the big day — to spring back after the terror attack — the hotel’s top management had a quiet word with its staff across the country through a special web telecast.

Staffers in every Taj hotel, including Taj Blue Diamond Pune, were glued to the one-and-a-half-hour address from 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm. The telecast began with a puja inside the hotel premises in Mumbai.

Attended by Ratan Tata, chairman Tata group, RK Krishna Kumar vice-chairman Tata Group’s Indian Hotels and Raymond Bickson, Managing Director, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, the puja was followed by an address to all staffers by the head honchos.

“The talk was mainly about sanitisation carried out and what the process of desantisation entails,” said a source working at a Taj hotel. The management also talked about the sacrifice of employees who died on duty during the attack, the source added.

“It was an internal telecast and something the Taj management always does before any big event. They always make each staff member feel a part of what is going on in the group and it’s been the case through these past few weeks also when the Taj management in all its hotels in the country was told details about the work that was on towards the reopening,” said Natasha Pal, spokesperson Taj Group.

The mood of employees watching the telecast was mixed, combining pride and a sense of loss. “But predominantly the feeling was one of being united in the hour of need and getting ready to share the responsibility ahead,” added another employee.

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