Startup founder slams Taj Hotel for schooling on how to sit, wear clothes, footwear

New Delhi: YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma has slammed authorities at the Taj Hotel for shaming her for sitting in “regular padmasana style” at its fine dining restaurant House of Ming.

In a post, along with a video, shared on the social media platform X, Sharma shared the incident that occurred when she went to House of Ming to have dinner along with her sister during Diwali.

Sharma, who sat in a padmasana position on the chair, was reprimanded by the manager and asked to sit properly as other guests raised objections to her way of sitting.

“An ordinary person, who through hard work earns their own money, and comes to the Taj Hotel with their dignity intact — even today, in this country, they have to face humiliation and insult. And what is my fault? Just this, that I sat down in a “regular padmasana style”? Is it my fault that the Taj is teaching me how to sit, what to do?” Sharma said in the post on X.

The manager also insulted her for the choice of clothes — “traditional salwar kameez” and footwear — “kolhapuri chappals”.

She said that she worked hard and earned the money to afford a place at the fine dining, but the hotel is “reeking of richness, culture and class”.

The manager told her, “This is fine dining, and a lot of rich people come here. So, you should sit in a way”, adding that “I don’t know what to wear, closed shoes”.

“I am wearing Kolhapuri slippers. And what I wear, I bought it with my own hard work and came here. But to come here and say that you sit with your feet down, this is wrong.

“And someone has an objection and a problem. And it shows that we are still reeking of this richness and this culture and this class. Why? I work hard, and that’s why I am here.

“And I am paying for this myself. So, what is the issue? What is the problem with anyone here?” Sharma said.

Noting that she has a lot of respect for industrialist Ratan Tata, who was an investor in her company, the incident left her “disappointed with Taj”.

While Taj is yet to respond to the allegations, the post received several comments supporting her and slamming the hotel group.

“No one should ever face something like this. @TajMahalHotel, this isn’t just a mistake; it’s a serious failure. Hope you take accountability and ensure it never happens to anyone else,” said one user.

“Padmasana isn’t the problem; the problem is the Macaulay-moulded mindset that still measures dignity by Western posture. We’ve produced generations ashamed of their own civilization while pretending to be ‘global’. Countless Bhartiyas have faced such insults countless times,” added another.

However, some also asked her not to expect a homely atmosphere at a fine dining place — citing hygiene issues, among others.

IANS