My Old Flame

At the first ever Miss Universe contest in 1952, Miss Armi Kuusela of Finland won the crown. (India was represented by the married 26-year-old Indrani Rehman.) A year later, Kuusela passed through Calcutta en route to Hong Kong to marry Virgilio Hilario, a Filipino businessman. She stayed at the Great Eastern overnight before catching a connecting flight to Hong Kong.

The hotel management celebrated the occasion by holding a special banquet to afford the Calcutta top brass a glimpse of the international beauty queen. It would be a new experience for Indians to have a Miss Universe among them. That evening the banquet hall was full, everyone eager to catch a glimpse of the Finnish beauty.

It was rather late in the evening when Kuusela came to the banquet hall. She stood on the podium for a few minutes and smiled sweetly. As she did not know English, she didn’t speak. And that was all. She simply spent the rest of the evening at the main table. Of course, the food was very good, and for the diners, just being in the same room as Miss Universe was paisa vasool.

Then there was the visit of Lyn & Lys, the famous Egyptian belly-dancing twins. They came to Calcutta in the mid ’50s and performed every night at Maxim’s. Despite the gap of 50 years, I still recall them as being beautiful, with slim, taut bodies. Their show was very popular.

As long as they performed at the Great Eastern, they were the toast of the town, and Maxim’s was a Mecca for both the young and not-so-young of the city. It was the first time Calcuttans got a chance to see two scantily-dressed exquisite figures and their ball-bearing mounted bellies contort and gyrate to music. In fact, internationally, Lyn and Lys are still considered the finest exponents of belly dancing ever.

As an aside, the sisters were always chaperoned by their parents during their trips overseas. But the parents never came for the performances. They simply waited in their rooms for their daughters to come back after each show.

But it wasn’t just glamour, the hotel also had strong links with the world of sports. At one time, it was the only place in India where international billiards tournaments could be held. In 1958, the World Amateur Billiards tournament was held at the Great Eastern. India was represented by the redoubtable Wilson Jones and Chandra Hirjee. The reigning champion, Tom Cleary of Australia, was expected to defend his title successfully. Leslie Driffield of England was considered the main challenger. The Indians were there to take part in the championship, but weren’t expected to win the title.

But our Jones was in his element. We, the younger lot, cheered him on his every visit to the table. Jones began by demolishing Cleary. Then, in a see-saw final match, he defeated Driffield in the last 10 minutes. So, fittingly, the championship match held in India was won by an Indian. Jones was the first Indian to win a solo world title in any sport. It gave a great boost to billiards in India.

As an old fan, I look forward to the thorough renovation of my old haunt, and wait to see what new heroes and memories the next avatar of the Great Eastern Hotel will bear.