Name of the Day: Data Udupi Hotel

It stares at you when you zoom past Duraisamy Subway. It gatecrashes into your consciousness when you are driving aimlessly in Valasaravakkam or Amjikarai. 'Data Udupi' the name troubles you every time you stare at it. Is it a thematic hotel meant for the BPO crowd? Then how come you don't see these navy blue & white boards in Tidel Park? Admit it. Haven't you had these questions swirling in your head, for long? I've had. Thankfully my agony ended when a tamil gentleman explained to me the serendipitous minting of the 'Data' in 'Data Udupi'. The story goes that the owners wanted to say 'Tata Udupi' and ended up with Data because of the inability of the language to differentiate 'ta' from 'da'. Another theory is it had to be 'Data Udupi' as 'Tata Udupi' would have meant many years of litigation fighting the black gown gifting friends of Niira Radia. Whatever, the origin, it's a very unusual name. And we like it precisely because its quirky.