Survival of the finest: Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

As we sit motionless in the gridlocked Mumbai traffic, Arvind confesses that he has forgotten his 25th wedding anniversary. The cheerful hotel chauffeur reckons he's unlikely to be in the doghouse for long though.

"My wife won't be angry. She almost lost me five years ago so we're a lot more relaxed these days. I'll take her out for dinner tomorrow."

The 2008 terrorist attacks loom large in the memory of those associated with India's most famous hotel. But so does a tradition of overcoming adversity. "Taj spirit", as its known, dates back 110 years.

In 1898, just as Bombay (as Mumbai was known until 1996) was emerging from the ravages of bubonic plague, workmen began sinking the foundations of what would become a lodging legend. As construction gathered pace, industrialist and soon-to-be hotelier Jamsetji Tata embarked on an international buying spree, with money being no object. On his shopping list were Croatian horses and Belgian chandeliers. He bought 300 beds in London and pillars made from the same steel as that used for Paris' Eiffel Tower.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel opened its doors on December 16, 1903, 40 days after the first edition of the South China Morning Post rolled off the presses in another part of the British empire. For the 17 guests booked in that night, the ultra-modern property offered a tantalising glimpse of 20th-century style and innovation - a fact emphasised in the breathless tones of the prospectus.

"The Hotel will be lighted throughout with electric lights, and many lifts, also worked by electricity, will convey residents from floor to floor with comfort."