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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteViolet “Vi” Smith, proprietor of Kolkata’s Fairlawn Hotel and known locally as the “Duchess of Sudder Street,” died on September 20, 2014, aged 93. Scroll published its obituary on September 24, the day it reported that her staff would attend her funeral; “today” in the original headline meant that Wednesday in 2014, not the present day.
Who was the Duchess of Sudder Street?
Smith was the longtime proprietor and resident host of Fairlawn Hotel, a landmark on Sudder Street in central Kolkata. “Duchess of Sudder Street” was an affectionate popular nickname, not a formal title. The obituary portrayed her as part of the hotel’s welcome: she greeted visitors, chatted with them and told stories that connected guests to the city’s past. Her daughter, Jennifer Fowler, summed up that gift: “That was my mother’s gift: she loved people.” Scroll’s 2014 obituary and a Times of India report both describe Smith as a raconteur whose presence brought Kolkata’s stories into the hotel.
Her attachment to the city was direct. In a 2013 profile, she said, “Calcutta is my desh. It is my city.” Rediff’s profile described her arrival as a young girl in 1936, while Scroll’s later obituary gave 1933. The accounts differ, so the exact year should not be treated as settled.
When did Violet Smith die, and what did “today” mean?
Scroll reported that Smith died in her room at Fairlawn on Saturday, September 20, 2014, at age 93. Its September 24 obituary said her funeral was scheduled for Wednesday morning at Bhowanipore Cemetery. According to the article, hotel service would pause for two hours so staff could attend; the staff had asked for time off together. These details describe the funeral arrangements reported in 2014, not a current event.
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How Fairlawn became a family home and business
Scroll’s account traces the hotel’s family history to Smith’s mother, Rosie Sarkies. After buying the Astoria, a Sudder Street hotel or boarding house, Sarkies sold it in 1936 for Rs 6,000 and bought Fairlawn, a few buildings away. The obituary said the property had remained in the family since. Smith inherited it in 1962 and lived there.
Her husband, Ted Smith, managed the hotel, handling accounts and checking the kitchen’s quality, Fowler told Scroll. After his death, Fowler helped her mother run the property. The family’s story was therefore also a working partnership behind the hotel’s hospitality.
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What made Fairlawn a storehouse of Kolkata stories?
The obituary described Fairlawn as a gathering place for theatre and film people, writers and musicians. It reported that actors Geoffrey and Laura Kendal’s touring theatre company stayed there for two years in the 1950s. Their daughter Jennifer Kendal and Shashi Kapoor honeymooned at the hotel; manager R. N. Pal said room 17 was kept as Kapoor’s room. Other visitors or admirers named in the article included Ismail Merchant, James Ivory, Dominique Lapierre, Patrick Swayze, Günter Grass, Julie Christie and Sting. These are guest-history details reported by the obituary, not an independently audited visitor list. A Telegraph India retrospective later recounted Lapierre’s friendship with Smith and his regular visits.
Fairlawn’s motto, as Scroll reported it, was to “meet tourists as guests and send them away as friends”. The phrase captured the personal welcome associated with Smith: the hotel’s memories were not only about famous names, but also about the conversations and stories shared with ordinary guests.
How the hotel was changing by 2014
Scroll’s 2014 portrait balanced Fairlawn’s old-fashioned atmosphere with signs of modernization. The article described a green façade, potted plants, royal-family memorabilia and staff uniforms, alongside a menu that included sizzlers and British roast by request. It said a renovation four years earlier had added geysers and air conditioning to every room, ended a tariff that bundled all meals, and shifted the menu mainly toward Indian and Chinese food. Pugrees and cummerbunds, the article added, were brought out for Christmas. These are details of the hotel as reported in 2014; they should not be taken as a description of its current facilities, menu or policies.
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