Capt Nair

Capturing Dreams

This account on the life, or should I say, many lives of the legendary hotelier, is one for the prized bookshelf.  Penned by Bachi Karkaria, Capture the Dream is all you need to know about the Late Capt Nair

Text: Farzana Contractor

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Capt Nair studiously followed this quote by Henry David Thoreau and sincerely went about doing so. Quite literally, too, for it was after he turned 60 that he started building the Leela Hotels. That’s an age most are planning their retirements, active or otherwise.

Capt Nair who passed away at 92 years, in 2014, led an extraordinary life. But then he was an extraordinary man. And we have his life down now, in black and white, the written word, by none other than Bachi Karkaria, the  journalist who specialises in biographies.

The book unfolds with a paragraph from William Dalrymple’s, The Dancer of Kannaur. It’s a dramatic scene which was watched by little Capt Nair, Krishnan, at age five as he clutched his mother’s hand. It was an annual sacred ritual, a part of Kerala's northern Malabar coast, the hometown of the Nairs. Capt Nair’s mother played an important part in his life all through. As did his wife, Leela, after whom all his hotels were named and who remained his “wife, guide and soulmate” till the very end.

His growing-up years, humble and difficult as they were, actually shaped his adult life and he never forgot the simple rice breakfast he ate every day. Even while he dined at the best restaurants of the world, often narrating his nostalgic tales to those at his tables, royalty included. Yes, there were many admirers of Capt Nair in every field. And each was showered with his legendary hospitality. Look what someone as spiritually lofty as the Dalai Lama himself had to say. “In my travels around the world I often tell people about the enduring core values of ancient Indian thought. Tolerance and non-violence. To these perhaps I should add Capt Nair’s appreciation of the ancient Indian sense of hospitality, treating guests with the utmost respect and concern for others. Warm hospitality, active concern for the environment, as well as community-based projects in each of their locations are admirable qualities of the Leela Hotels.”

Young Krishnan Nair’s college education was funded by selling the diamond ring given to him by an impressed Raja, just for the purpose. But after that, like many men of his time who lacked the money to sustain living, he joined the British Indian Army. His first posting was to Abbottabad, in 1942, where he worked as a wireless officer decoding and transmitting messages. This was another milestone experience that stayed with Capt Nair, all his life.

Post his army days, he became a businessman when he pioneered beautiful lace-making in India. Thereafter he forged a roaring textile empire along with his two sons, Vivek and Dinesh, becoming the biggest exporter of ready-to-wear clothes to the USA.

Bachi Karkaria’s narration of Capt Nair’s exuberant life is written in her inimitable style; honestly, entertainingly and peppered with humour. Which the good Capt, too, indulged in, in plenty. One always saw him laughing and smiling, making people feel wanted and comfortable in their skin. He did have the gift of the gab. and had a personality which was larger than life. A true bon vivant, who even in his simplicity, lived life king-size. Wore excellently-cut linen suits, drove a Rolls Royce, added caviar to his eggs!

He was not a man who could ever say, the time had come to ‘settle down’, ‘take it easy’. He went on creating one more beautiful ‘Leela’ than the other. Bombay, Kerala, Bangalore, Madras, Delhi, Udaipur… His contribution to the hotel industry is immense. He raised the bar with each new modern palace that he built.As the author says, “Capt Nair demanded the best for his guests, down to the smallest details – from the thread count of the bed sheets to the water pressure in the shower stalls!"

Long live the memory of Capt Nair, the man with the green thumb who also contributed to the environment. His is a story of aspiration, passion, determination. Overcoming all odds to achieve, nay, capture his dreams!