Three days have passed after the world’s greatest footballer visited Kannur and stole the hearts of Malayalis by singing, dancing and playing football in front of them.
As the soccer fans are still reliving those golden moments, arrangements have begun here to preserve the memories of the historic visit. The Club Suite No 309, the elite room on the third floor of Hotel Blue Nile where Diego Maradona stayed during his visit to Kannur, is being converted into Maradona Museum Club Suite. Chairman of Hotel Blue Nile V Ravindran said that it was a great honour to have Maradona in his hotel. “We are planning to preserve the room with his memorabilia and other Maradona collectibles and convert the suite into a museum within a few weeks. Because of this famous visit, the suite has been pre-booked by people from Manjeri, Malappuram and Ponnani, who are eager to spend a night in the room where the football god stayed,” he says.
An ardent fan of Maradona, Abdul Sayed Alam from Qatar is presently staying in the suite. According to the chairman, he has already paid the hotel charges for a month in advance.
Recalling his rendezvous with the soccer star, Ravindran said that the first thing Maradona noticed in the suite was the pictures of his grandson Benjamin, which were framed on the walls. “Seeing the pictures, Maradona exulted and blew kisses in the air for Benjamin.”
A special menu was prepared for the Argentine, which included mainly continental dishes. “He loved the varieties of fish we presented,” Ravindran adds.
When the charming Maradona requested for a special dinner, the hotel management set up a ‘Nadan Thattukada’ inside the hotel. It is reported that the Argentine enjoyed the delicacies laid out before him. The thattukada is being renamed as ‘Maradona Thattukada’.