At India’s colonial-era clubs, allure of elite membership trumps archaic rules
- The members-only clubs were established in the late 1800s by the British as a place for white men to socialise
- Today, only the who’s who in India are allowed to join these clubs, some of which continue preserving rules such as banning women from having voting rights
Waiters in liveries, cummerbunds and turbans work on the premises with polished wooden floors and an imposing porch. Men in formal suits sit on cane chairs reading newspapers at tables with crisp white linen. Others chat at the bar.
Yorkshire pudding is on the menu, as is Mulligatawny soup, believed to have been created in Chennai.
Only the creme-de-la-creme of Chennai’s society is permitted to apply for membership at the Madras Club, a colonial relic modelled on the famous gentlemen’s clubs in London.
Its home at the sprawling Palladian building, with its octagonal cupola, a huge ballroom with chandeliers, and one of India’s oldest private libraries, was built in 1890. It is the club’s third address since it was formed in 1832 as a whites-only association.
When the British colonised India, they established social spaces where civilian officers could have a cigar and whisky in the evenings. Most of the clubs were social groups, while there were also interest groups, including for tennis, bridge and billiards.