{"id":35087,"date":"2014-11-19T17:32:19","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T22:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35087"},"modified":"2014-11-19T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T03:02:10","slug":"kuttan-from-keralathe-legendary-doorman-of-galle-face-hotel-dies-at-94-after-72-years-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=35087","title":{"rendered":"Kuttan from Kerala,the Legendary Doorman of Galle Face Hotel Dies at 94 After 72 Years of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nKottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, the legendary hotel doorman, who served world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Richard Nixon at the famous Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, has died.<\/p>\n

\"GFHK\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Indian-origin doorman of the country\u2019s iconic hotel, known as Kuttan, passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on Tuesday after a brief illness. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe iconic doorman at the Galle Face Hotel who made history for being one of the oldest hotel employees in the world. Passed away peacefully in the early hours of 18th November 2014. May his soul rest in peace!,\u201d Galle Face Hotel said on its Facebook page on Kuttan\u2019s death after serving the institution for 72 years. <\/p>\n

Sanjeev Gardiner, the hotel\u2019s chairman, said it was a \u201ctruly sad day\u201c. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Guests would be greeted at the entrance by the diminutive Kuttan with his palms pressed together in the traditional greeting. <\/p>\n

White\u2014haired with a handlebar moustache, the diminutive figure also sported badges from all over the world. <\/p>\n

After leaving his village in Trichur district in Kerala at the age of 17, he reached Talaimannar pier in Sri Lanka\u2019s western coast in 1938 looking for a job with just Rs 25 in hand and the clothes he was wearing. <\/p>\n

Joining the hotel as a bell boy cum waiter in 1942, he continued to serve until his death, Lanka Mirror reported. <\/p>\n

Kuttan, who served dignitaries like Lord Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Emperor Hirohito, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Richard Nixon, celebrated his 91st birthday on February 15.
\nHe has been part of the Galle Face Hotel\u2019s culture from as far back as 1942. <\/p>\n

Kuttan virtually became the trade mark of the Sri Lanka\u2019s booming hospitality industry as well as the Galle Face Hotel as his photograph has adorned the cover pages of many travel magazines all over the world. <\/p>\n

Kuttan\u2019s Sri Lankan wife, who was a Christian, died some years ago.
\nHe had been ill for his final months but remained on the Galle Face Hotel staff. <\/p>\n

The 150\u2014year\u2014old Galle Face Hotel is situated in the heart of Colombo, along the seafront facing the famous Galle Face Green. <\/p>\n

The hotel held a minute\u2019s silence as a tribute to Kuttan. <\/p>\n

A hotel press release, paying tribute to Kuttan, said: “Starting his career as a restaurant waiter and then as the hotel\u2019s prestigious usher, Kuttan became an integral part of the hotel. He recognised almost all faces of frequent visitors and was a hit amongst the many guests of the hotel.<\/p>\n

His welcoming broad smile and hands raised to say “Ayubowan” (may you live longer), was always a symbolic sight at Galle Face Hotel.” <\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, the legendary hotel doorman, who served world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Richard Nixon at the famous Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, has died. The Indian-origin doorman of the country\u2019s iconic hotel, known as Kuttan, passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on Tuesday after a …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Kuttan from Kerala,the Legendary Doorman of Galle Face Hotel Dies at 94 After 72 Years of Service’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35087"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35105,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087\/revisions\/35105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}