Hearts have been won and lost, companies born and bought, governments formed, scripts written, plays staged and music played, all within this urban oasis. Here amid ancient rosewood trees, bloom the light purple jacaranda, the rich orange gulmohar, the fragrant parijatha, colourful hibiscus, and fluffy silk cotton. Birdsong makes sweet symphony as mynahs, parakeets, purple sunbirds and barbets are aplenty. The maddening sounds of a city on the move are magically silenced when you enter this urban oasis. It is rather like a time machine that has transported you back into a surreal world. The buildings bear witness to the architectural genius of a century gone by while the all enveloping lush greenery and aesthetically designed water bodies are an antidote to frayed nerves.
When England began sending more officers to the jewel in its colonial crown, an enterprising British couple in the cantonment of Bangalore opened a boarding house with ten beds in 1887, which became the home away from home for the lads. The very first hotel in this city, the Bronsons’ West End passed into the hands of new owners, the Spencers in 1912. They added charming features of architecture including tiled roofs, monkey-tops, trelliswork and intricately carved porticos, landscaped water bodies and sky lights. In 1984, an agreement between the Spencers and the Indian Hotels Company Limited infused fresh life and modernity to the Taj West End.