This one is not strictly ‘lost’ but it is almost that. Everest Hotel (now Everest King Castle) is one of the best known occupants of Jaya Mansions, a classic art deco building constructed in the late 1930s by S.P. Jayarama Nadar, Merchant and Councillor of the Corporation of Madras, to serve as a commercial hostel for students of the Madras Medical College. By the mid-1940s it had become commercial premises with a number of shops and establishments renting the rooms in the ground floor. Everest Lodge, as it was known, the creation of Sundaram Iyer, took the upper floors.
Located as it was midway between Central and Egmore stations, it became a very popular place of stay. There was a rooftop restaurant as well, which also functioned as the premises for the Muthialpet Sabha. It was here on a full moon night that Tiger Varadachariar is said to have performed a pallavi in Raga Poornachandrika.
Sundaram Iyer married a well-known dancer Swarna Saraswathi en secondes noces as the expression is, and the couple later moved to Delhi where they lived till their passing.
The hotel changed hands and continues to function from the same premises though ill-advised attempts at modernisation have robbed the facade of all vestiges of art deco.
An interesting aside is that Everest also ran Zoo Café, which, as the name suggests, was a restaurant at the Zoo which at the time was just behind Ripon Building, barely a stone’s throw away.
Other Lost Landmarks of Madras
Everest Hotel had a very small musical instruments shop on the ground floor called ‘Violin Crafts’. The shop keeper was an old man named Raja and one of best known luthier’s of the time. I bought my first guitar there in 1967 for 100 Rupees….Today a packet of stings cost Rs.400! Violin Crafts is no more but Raja’s sons make guitars under the name ‘Tulasi’.
Rags
As a resident of Chennai in the 1950’s. this brings back nostalgic
memories of the days bygone.
I’ve been to Chennai 4 times since 2001. I was not familiar with Chennai during my first 2 trips and as result I didn’t spend a single day there. During my 3rd trip I thought to myself that this time I must try to spend few days in Chennai. Though I preferred to find a hotel somewhere around Ekmore or Central, the taxi driver took recommended a hotel along Annasalai. Next time I want to stay at Everest. Is that ok?
Everest Hotel has been put on the block for sale and demolition – the listing refers to offers on 3 grounds or more out of 6.5 grounds, which indicates that it’s likely to be a piece-meal sale followed by demolition/redevelopment. With that, a portion on the hospitality history of Chennai is likely to be lost forever, like the demolition of the D’Angelis building on Mount Road a few years ago.