Today, when the world mourns the passing of PRS Oberoi, I believe we should celebrate his life and legacy. A golden chapter in hospitality has come to pass, and an era has ended. There will never be anyone like him.

I had the unique honour of being part of The Oberoi Group for over three decades. Every interaction with him was a unique learning experience, even when the discussions were terse, sharp or critical. As a colleague once said – “do you wish to remember the tonality of his words or the input? If the latter, his words depict an angry disappointment with your under performance, and his belief in your potential. It should teach you to aspire to be better and spur you, to be a better professional.”

Oberoi trusted me with many challenging assignments in India and abroad. He was always reachable. Even in his eighties, if you had left a message that you needed counsel, he would call you back the same day, albeit at 1.00 a.m. when he had finished his meetings. But he did so unfailingly. His words were, if I expect you to respond to all customers within the day, I owe you the same respect as you are my team leader(s) dealing with the customers, for the company and on my behalf.

I remember his stories of his mischievous conduct as a teenager, pinching bottles of champagne by hiding them under buffet tables at The Cecil and his enjoyable pursuits with royalty from Cannes to Monaco. With a twinkle in his eye and a puff of the cigar, he would recount stories of his meetings with Field Marshal Maneckshaw and Maharaja Karan Singh, among many others. His sense of humour and attention to detail epitomised an innkeeper without a peer. Each meeting you went to needed careful preparation. But there was never one where you didn’t come off feeling ‘underdone”. His innate sense would pick opportunities and gaps. As I told him on my farewell day, “You caught me out on a small point of detail even today during my handover,” and “I realised that I still wasn’t as good as you had wanted me to be.”

He chiselled me as he did many others. As a peer said, the physical form of a phenomenon has ended today, but he will continue to live in us in so many ways.

Oberoi used to say that attitude is what matters; knowledge can always be provided and honed. His dictum was: “Care for all as you would wish to be cared for”. He also pointed out, “Hospitality is common sense, but most don’t have it”.

We shall carry the torch, in our small ways, in the future.

I shall puff a cigar today and raise a toast in his memory, being one of the few allowed to smoke in his august presence throughout my career.

Cheers, sir You will live in our hearts and souls forever.

(Rattan Keswani was deputy managing director at Lemon Tree Hotels and director, Carnation Hotels. Before that he was President, Trident Hotels, part of EIH Ltd – Oberoi Group, where he cut his teeth in hospitality.)

Related Topics