Rise & Fall following True Values of Life

by K. Vijaya Kumar, Former Jt. Director of Information & Publicity

Migrating from UP (Bulandshahr) in mid- twenties to Mysore, late N. Munshilal at his young age of around 25 showed Mysoreans what a real hotel meant for. This is the story of a pious and honest hotelier, who founded the earliest hotel Sri Krishna Bhavan between 1925-30 (just opposite to Dufferin Clock Tower in a portion of present Visvesvaraya Building) and later adding a chain of hotels rising to great heights and going down for following true business ethics in running his hotels.

His son M. Parameshwar Dayal

Remembering late Munshilal, as his son M. Parameshwar Dayal and myself were classmates in Yuvaraja’s College in 1954-56 becoming very close friends and tasting Munshilal’s hospitality while experiencing the fatherly-love shown to me in the company of his son, how can I forget the taste of the ghee dosa personally prepared by him and fed to us on our return from the college.

Close contacts with Palace

Munshilal’s fame and the delicious pure ghee sweets brought him close to the Royal family and he became the caterer for the Palace functions and weddings. Carrying choicest sweets in big steel plates as gift during birthday celebrations to the Palace received the personal attention of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar who liked the sweets as well as Munshilal. When the Maharaja came to know that Munshilal had to shift his hotel to give way for the construction of Visvesvaraya building, he even offers help to provide a new place for him which Munshilal politely declined, his son tells me. Who knows, if both were alive today, he would have been the caterer for the recently held Royal Wedding in the Palace !

Chain of hotels, next

Probably, the shifting of Krishna Bhavan to a new place — the present Indra Cafe Building on Sayyaji Rao Road — opened a new vista for Munshilal to establish a chain of hotels starting with Chamundeshwari Bhavan on Shivarampet Road, next to Gayatri Bhavan on Dhanvantri Road and later a hotel in Bangalore. It is interesting to know he grew to own even Rajkamal Theatre, Shivarampet, in the beginning with a partner one B.K. Gupta. He also opens a Departmental Store at that time itself.

Late Badri Prasad of Indra Bhavan Hotel and late Revati Prasad of Bombay Anand Bhavan were his contemporaries.

A Gandhian

Following Gandhiji’s ideals in life, he had close contacts with Gandhians of that time like H.C. Dasappa and others. Gandhiji’s first grandson Kantilal Harilal Gandhi was studying MBBS in Mysore and he came in contact with Munshilal, who introduced him to his physician Dr. Annajappa, a popular doctor of those times. I am told even Dr. Rajendra Prasad in his early days during a visit to Mysore had tasted the hospitality of Munshilal.

Did following ethics in his running of hotel business bring him down having reached such heights? Yes, partially, his son, my friend Parameshwar Dayal tells but more on believing and depending with good faith on his own staff, so much so one of his Managers occupies a position as partner of his father.

Parameshwar Dayal, now living in Channapatna with his wife Mithilesh and children, is doing well with his sweet stall business popularly known as Dayal Sweets. [Mobile: 94487- 40008].

e-mail: kumarkv59@gmail.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / July 10th, 2016

The iconic Everest Talkies could soon be repurposed from a single-screen theatre to a cultural space

It could turn out to be a David vs. Goliath story, with a modern twist. At a time when single-screen theatres are being gobbled up by multiplexes, the young proprietor of the iconic Everest Talkies, in Fraser Town, Bengaluru, has a new survival concept for his theatre.

Yogi Kshatriya (29) wants to repurpose his single-screen theatre into a cultural space. This idea that has been in “incubation” since 2015, is now taking shape. He is in talks with an interested party to begin a joint venture, which could turn the 10,000 sq.ft space, run by three generations of Kshatriyas, into a profitable enterprise next year.

His idea is simple: build a stage, but retain the screen. The space can then be thrown open to jazz jam sessions, stand-up comedy gigs, product launches, poetry readings or screenings of international films. “With proper investment on board… maybe an F&B space,” he says.

Limited choices

“When I studied in the U.K. in 2009-10, there were multiple things to do every weekend. I remember a huge warehouse, with second-hand sofas lying around; we just bought a ticket and lounged around. But here, our options are limited; we go either to a bar, pub, a café or restaurant. I want to hold events,” he says.

In spite of overhead costs cutting into profits at Everest, Mr. Kshatriya joined up with Vikalp, a network of documentary filmmakers in India, in 2014, to screen documentaries every fourth Thursday of the month at the theatre. The goal: to have a constant audience and to make the sessions interactive.

“My condition was that it should be free and an educational experience,” says Mr. Kshatriya, who studied Imaging and Communication at Goldsmiths, University of London, and is making a documentary film himself.

A donation box has been placed at the theatre entrance for contributions. After the screening, there is a Q & A session with the director or anyone associated with the film. “We now have 40 to 50 regulars who come for the viewing. This has been a test for me,” says Mr. Kshatriya, who views the screenings as the first step towards the theatre’s transition to an event hub.

Stiff competition

Two landmark single screens Tribhuvan and Kailash shut down in April in the city, and Mr. Kshatriya has been approached by big builders.

“My heart won’t let me sell it. I can’t put a lock on this iconic place. I ran around here as a child and watched the spools unwind. We still have an audience. But, just 1 km away a multiplex with six screens is about to open,” he says, ruefully.

But the show must go on… And this time next year, we could be lounging on sofas laughing at a stand-up comedian at Everest Talkies.

• Yogi Kshatriya, current owner of the theatre is in talks to begin a joint venture
• He wants to throw the space open for jazz jam sessions, stand-up gigs, among others

• Documentaries are screened every fourth Thursday of the month at the theatre
• Afterwards, there is a Q & A with the director or anyone associated with the film

• Two landmark single screens Tribhuvan and Kailash shut down in April in the city
• ‘My heart won’t let me sell it. I can’t put a lock on this iconic place’
•  __________________________________

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Litta Jacob / Bengaluru – July 08th, 2016