The reopening of the iconic hotel is a moment the city waited for long time.
A bit of history came back to life in Kolkata on Tuesday with the reopening of the 173-year-old Great Eastern Hotel in a new avatar. Mahatma Gandhi had apparently stayed here, and so had Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling.
In 1975, the government took it over but couldn't run it successfully. The Lalit Suri group took it over in 2005 and it is now back in business.
For Kolkata, the reopening of the iconic hotel is a moment the city has waited for a very long time.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid her tribute to the Lalit Great Eastern in her unique way - by executing a painting at the inaugural function.
"We fully support and have full best wishes for the hotel. It will be successful. This hotel was popular, is popular and will be popular in future also," said the chief minister.
Started by an English baker, David Wilson in 1840, the hotel ran into problems with its management in the 1970s and was taken over by the state government.
It then began to fall apart. They had to remove 500 truckloads of muck before starting renovation. Even now, the heritage wing is tied up in litigation.
Jyotsna Suri of Bharat Hotels Limited said, "The heritage block one has not been completed despite our best efforts. Its condition was extremely bad and added to it we have two stubborn tenants who refuse to vacate."
Tuesday's was a soft launch. Most parts of the hotel will open to the public in three weeks.
Many hopes rest on it. Primarily, that it will become a symbol of Kolkata's revival to the status it used to once enjoy: the jewel of the East.