35053668-Empire-of-the-Soul-Paul-William-Roberts

‘EUROPEANS ARE COMING TO MY COUNTRY NOW’
certainly the first time that a costumer of the standing of Mr
Phillips has visited India with a choice and expensive selection
of dresses. Mr Phillips has opened a show-room at Taj Mahal
where all these lovely gowns are to be seen . . .
Mr. Phillips’ visit was more than a fashion show, it was a social event,
and one pictures the fierce competition among the memsahibs to
purchase the finest gown he had carried halfway around the world.
From the governor down, the Raj was weakening in its resolve –
everyone now visited the ‘Indian’s Hotel.’
On January 4 of the following year, the Times published another
attack, reporting the loss of a diamond brooch by a Taj guest, Mrs
Austin Low. On February 15 the paper hinted that the hotel’s lifts
were potentially hazardous, noting the injury of Vithal Hari, a cleaner:
In trying to get out his head from between the floor and the roof
of the lift he was seriously injured and taken to the G.T. Hospital
for treatment.
Music soon became almost synonymous with the Taj; all manner
of concerts, recitals, balls, and dances were announced in the pages
of the Times on an increasingly regular basis.
TAJ MAHAL HOTEL
MISS
BONAVIA HUNT
The distinguished English Pianist,
WILL GIVE
TWO EVENING CONCERTS
Under the Patronage of H.E. The GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY
ON
WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY, Dec. 18th and 21st at 9.30.
VOCALISTS:
Soprano: Miss Frances Shoot.
Tenor: Mr G. E. Thomas.
Violinist (on the 21st only): Mr Arnold Schmuck.
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