The Ashok: seven decades of Indian hospitality

October 26, 1956, marked a new dawn for hospitality in Delhi. The capital was a smaller, more manageable city then, and the mood was upbeat as the newly built Ashok Hotel was inaugurated in Chanakyapuri. Among those present was Professor EB Doctor, a distinguished Parsi architect from Mumbai whose vision had shaped the remarkable building that would go on to become one of the capital’s most recognisable landmarks.

‘Matchless place’

The Ashok’s story began with a diplomatic commitment that presented New Delhi with an unexpected challenge. In 1955, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was attending a UNESCO meeting in Paris when he proposed that India host the following year’s gathering in the capital. The proposal was accepted, but when Nehru returned to India, his advisers pointed out a major problem: Delhi did not have a sufficiently large and well-equipped hotel to accommodate the international delegates and dignitaries expected to visit the city.

Keen to resolve the problem quickly, Nehru asked his officials to identify suitable land in New Delhi for a new hotel. A committee selected Professor EB Doctor of Mumbai’s Sir JJ College of Architecture to design the building.

Doctor accepted the challenge and produced what was arguably one of the capital’s grandest public buildings in the years following Independence. He had to create a magnificent hotel on a plot of about 25 acres, at a time when much of Chanakyapuri was undeveloped, with thick bushes covering large stretches of land and few buildings in the surrounding area.

Over the decades, the hotel has welcomed presidents, prime ministers, heads of state, political leaders, revolutionaries, business tycoons and celebrities from across the world. Among its distinguished guests have been Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, Cuban President Fidel Castro and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Guevara visited Delhi on June 30, 1959, and stayed at the hotel for nearly a week.

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BP Ojha, an acclaimed sports commentator who first visited the hotel in 1967, recalls: “It became my favourite hotel once I visited there and since then I have visited there countless number of times to attend marriage functions or to have the dinner or coffee at their premier Frontier restaurant and Coffee shop. It is a matchless place.”

A class apart

Doctor created a building that combined grandeur with practicality, incorporating Indian architectural elements such as jharokhas, decorative balconies and jaali work to give the hotel a regal appearance. Modern in scale yet rooted in traditional Indian architecture, the building was a distinctive addition to the capital’s landscape.

“I have not seen such a spacious hotel, with a massive lobby, large rooms and a huge convention hall. The Ashok has a touch of royalty. It is remarkable that such a grand hotel came up nearly six decades ago,” says Ojha, who retired as a senior official of the Finance Ministry.

Grandeur within

The Ashok’s architecture remains one of its greatest attractions, particularly its impressive lobby, where large chandeliers hang from the ceiling, creating the feeling of entering a palace rather than a hotel. A statue of Lord Vishnu, which has been part of the hotel since its early days, adds to the distinctive character of the space.

The corridors are unusually spacious, while the staircases have generous room around them. Though such features may seem ordinary today, they contribute to the building’s sense of openness and grandeur.

Recalling the hotel’s early days, former staff member Sunil Malhotra says: “It was one of the first multi-cuisine restaurants in the city with silver service, a live band and the lighting we now associate with discotheques.” The hotel also served as a filming location for a scene in the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Laawaris.

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In good company

The Ashok has long been associated with important social occasions in India’s political and business circles, becoming a popular venue for large celebrations, particularly weddings attended by hundreds of guests.

In 1968, Indira Gandhi hosted the wedding reception of her elder son, Rajiv Gandhi, at the hotel. Today, high-profile families continue to choose The Ashok for their ceremonies and receptions, particularly during the wedding season.

A wedding here often means a gathering of 500 to 1,000 guests, with the vast convention hall, grand setting and extensive grounds making the hotel particularly suitable for large functions.

The Ashok also features in the story of Indian business. During the 1970s, Dhirubhai Ambani reportedly stayed there regularly, preferring a room overlooking the lush greenery of Nehru Park. The hotel was also a favourite of Rajesh Khanna. “Before becoming an MP, he used to stay here only,” says Sunil Negi, who served as Khanna’s media adviser.

A transformed landscape

Before The Ashok was built, the area around Chanakyapuri looked very different, with stretches of bushes and informal settlements and much of the neighbourhood still undeveloped.

The growth of Chanakyapuri and the rise of The Ashok went hand in hand. As embassies and diplomatic residences appeared, the hotel became an important part of the capital’s international identity.

“Before its arrival, Delhi had only a limited number of established hotels capable of serving a wealthy and international clientele. The Imperial on Janpath and the Oberoi Maidens in Civil Lines were among the prominent names,” says Santokh Chawla, head of Fun and Food Village. He adds, “It offered a large property capable of hosting international delegations, major conferences and elaborate social functions under one roof.”

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Delhi and the National Capital Region now have dozens of luxury hotels, yet The Ashok retains a distinctive place in the city’s history because it belongs to a period when India was building the institutions and infrastructure of a newly independent nation.

The symbol of an era

The hotel is commonly referred to as “Ashoka” in Delhi, though its official name has been The Ashok since 2007.

Its significance lies in more than its size or the famous people who have stayed there. The hotel represents a particular moment in India’s history, when the country was seeking to establish itself on the world stage and Delhi was being developed as the capital of a modern republic.

Seventy years after its inauguration, The Ashok continues to stand as a reminder of Nehru’s vision, Doctor’s architectural imagination and the ambitions of a young nation.

“Delhi has changed beyond recognition since 1956. Its roads are busier, its skyline is taller and its hospitality industry is far more competitive. Yet The Ashok retains its old-world charm. Some buildings become famous because of their architecture. Others become important because of the people who pass through their doors. The Ashok belongs to both categories,” concludes Santokh Chawla.

As one of the capital’s grand old landmarks, The Ashok brings together three strands of history: the evolution of Delhi, the story of Indian diplomacy and the memories of generations of visitors.