Kolkata:Great Eastern Hotel isn't such a great place to look at.But that its shabby exteriors hide very successfully its veritable treasure trove.

Hamidbhai should know.For, he was once a cook at the hotel.Ask him what he thinks is the most precious object in the hotel's possession."The fork and the knife Queen Elizabeth used when she came calling in 1963,"he answers without batting an eyelid.

            But Amita Chakraborty thinks otherwise.A senior executive who lost her job when the hotel changed hnds,Amita talks of a marble table and a mahogony chair poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt used."It is there.I know for a fact,it's there,"she protests.

            But music lover Surajit Dasgupta can't take his eyes off the grand piano.Surajit was till recently reception manager.It's a century old antique.I'd give my right hand for it."

            Kunal Kishore Ghosh,a former employee,is now a writer.More than any thing else he values the hotel's 'goodwill' and 'brand'."They are worth their weight in gold,"he says.

            Lalit Suri,the new owner,would perhaps agree.Established in 1840 at a prime location,the hotel straddles a 2.3-acre plot.By conservative estimates, the land alone would be worth Rs100 crore,if not more.No wonder, therefore,Suri expressed deep interest in taking over the heritage hotel with an immediate investment of over Rs 175 crore (Rs 52 crore as reserve price and Rs 120 crore to spruce up the place).

            "Lalit Suri knows what he has bought.He's professional and is aware that he's got an antique treasure trove," an ex-employee says.

            In 1963,Queen Elizabeth visited the city.Her entourage had put up at the Great Eastern.The then owner,B K Roy,had imported silver cutlery from England for a banquet that was hosted in her honour.These are stashed away in the hotel's many cupboards.

            The hotel still has 500 silver dinner sets,thousands of silver forks,goblets and bowls."Each of these sets is worth a fortune.There is an inventory,but not many of us know where these objects are now,"says Jagannath Bag,executive officer of the Great Eastern Hotel Authority.An official list of the hotel's assets,furniture and fittings submitted to the bidders reveals Great Eastern's wealth.It talks of 345 teak and mahogony beds,153 cupboards/almirah,180 writing desks,448 sofa sets,178 tables and chairs.