The hotel was dubbed a “traditional hotel” because of its Mangaluru-style vegetarian cuisine, banquet halls and wedding event spaces, and on-site Lakshmi-Ganapathi temple.
In response to a Supreme Court decision, Hotel Ajantha has suspended operations at the MG Road site it has inhabited since 1971. The hotel took its final food order on December 31 and stopped accepting reservations for rooms on December 25.
S Bagilthaya, the property’s owner, claims that a disagreement within the family is the reason for the closure. In 2004, our 30-year lease came to an end. Since the property was already under dispute, we were unable to renew it.Because of the case’s current state, we carried on with our operations. We want to start up again, but we’re not sure if it will be at the same place or somewhere else,” the 68-year-old stated.
The hotel was referred to be a “traditional hotel” because of its Lakshmi-Ganpathy temple on the property, banquet halls and rooms for wedding events, and Mangaluru-style vegetarian cuisine.Some longtime patrons called him after learning of the closure to inquire about picking up hotel linens and towels as mementos of “Old Bangalore.”
Bajjis from Mangalore
People who worked on M G Road preferred to eat lunch and snacks at the hotel’s simple Ajantha restaurant. “I loved their meals, pakodas, and coffee,” remembered banking professional Raghavendra Singh.The portions were just right, and the prices were fair. Jyothi G, a software professional, had pleasant memories of the Maddur vada, sambhar, and masala dosa. She remarked, “The staff was friendly, the service was prompt, and the line was always long.”
In the 2000s, a journalist working in central Bengaluru would frequently have Mangalore bajji, the hotel’s most popular snack, with “ginger-infused juice” on the side.Two chutneys were included with the Mangalore bajjis: tomato and coconut.Hotelier P C Rao, who frequently used the venue for business meetings, remarked, “Both were excellent.”
Visits to temples
Two women with a notice of a temporary injunction attached returned from the gate on Monday afternoon, according to Metrolife.One remarked, “We used to come here for walks daily,” alluding to the campus’s vast, lush landscape that is isolated from the bustle of the main road.
Additionally disrupted are cultural and therapeutic activities at the HeyBrewty Wellness Studio, which is maintained by Bagilthaya’s daughter Swathi and is situated outside the reception area.
Some people are disappointed that they can no longer go to the temple for their monthly “sankashti puja” and Friday pujas.Every year at the end of the year, an old woman and her family come from Chennai to perform puja at our temple.She remained at a nearby hotel this year due to our locked room reservations, but she still attended the puja on December 31st,” he revealed.
The hotel was also favored for hosting business meetings due to its convenient location and plenty of parking.
From a typical Indian hotel to a British inn
According to S. Bagilthaya, the Ashley Park Hotel, a seven-bedroom lodging facility owned by a British couple, was the initial name of Hotel Ajantha.In the early 1970s, an exigency forced the couple to flee India. They came to see my father, P J Bagilthaya, who was employed by the police department, in order to assist in finding a new tenant for the lease.
Because M G Road, formerly South Parade, was lonely and dark in the nights, it was a challenging chore. “Auto drivers would refuse rides to the inn because it was tucked inside a lane,” the report read.He said that the sole business in the area was Webb’s, a garage that serviced Mercedes-Benz cars.
When his father saw how powerless they were, he requested his uncle, Govind Rao, who worked in the hotel industry, to look into the inn.The lease was taken over by his father, uncle, and Ramakrishna Rao, who owned the now-closed Brindavan Hotel. Since they were all from the seaside town, they changed its name to Ajantha and added Mangalurean cuisine. At the time, Bagilthaya was in PUC.
A restaurant, two banquet halls (named after the constellations Rohini and Swathi), and a 60-room structure were added.In order to support wedding ceremonies, thread ceremonies, and funeral rites performed in the hotel’s halls, the temple was constructed 33 years ago. As the city’s working population grew more cosmopolitan in the early 1990s, North Indian cuisine was introduced to the menu.
