The late Captain Krishnan Nair was an innovator par excellence. When he thought of building a five-star hotel near the airport in Mumbai, many expressed their misgivings. That many such hotels have since sprung up near the airport testifies to his foresight. Instead of hotels being located near business centres it has become the other way round now. The development of the Bandra-Kurla complex and the declining importance of the central business district testifies to this observation. I can cite one instance of Nair's novel ideas. In 1989, the governors of the 17 central banks in South-East Asia, New Zealand and Australia met in Mumbai for their biennial meeting to plan the next central banking training programme for senior central bankers. I was in charge of the arrangements for the meeting. A dinner hosted by then Governor R N Malhotra of Reserve Bank of India, in honour of the delegates, was planned at the Hotel Leela. Nair took personal interest in the matter since Malhotra was a good friend of his and the occasion was unique for India, hosting so many central bank governors for the first time. The foreign delegates were pleasantly surprised when, on arrival at the hotel, each one was garlanded by an elephant.
A Seshan Mumbai
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