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Glorious TRADITION
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We begin, this week, a series on various clubs in the city. The first to be featured is Trivandrum Club. The oldest club in the city, it continues to be the most prestigious.
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The renovated P. Subramaniam Hall
THE BRITISH who set up Trivandrum Club may have left the shores of the country more than 55 years ago, but the club continues to carry forward the rich legacy, providing its members with a space for recreation.
History
The club, which has a hoary tradition of more than 100 years, is the oldest in the city. Started exclusively for the use of the European community in the erstwhile State of Travancore, the club was better known as the European Club. It started functioning in 1900 and was the haunt of the officers of the armed forces and of the planters. It was renamed The Club Trivandrum in 1902 with Oliver Henry Bensley, Superintendent of Police, as trustee, to manage the affairs of the club.
The club invited Sree Moolam Tirunal Maharaja to be a member in 1931. He thus became the first Indian member of the club. Office-bearers were elected for the first time in 1935. The first Indian to become the president of the club was R. V. Raja in 1964. Major A. K. Thampi became the first Indian secretary of the club in 1960.
The club, spread over five acres on the northern ridge of Cotton Hill, has kept pace with the changing times. While the main building retains the charm of old-world colonial architecture, many new building that provide state-of-the-art facilities have come up in recent times. The latest feather in the cap of the club is the renovated P. Subramaniam Hall.
Facilities
Conveniences include a health spa complete with sauna, steam and jacuzzi, Ayurvedic massage parlour, saloon, swimming pool, gymnasium, and badminton court. Two restaurants, hospitality centres, a marriage hall, an air-conditioned bar, three lawns, children's park, and facilities for sports such as tennis, table tennis, billiards, and cards are also provided. The club also provides accommodation in the form of five cottages, three double rooms, one single room, six deluxe rooms, and a tree house.
The club has a well-stocked library with over 3,000 books. Says S. Ram Mohan, president of the club (at the time of reporting): "The books have been contributed by members. Not a single penny has been spent on them. But the library needs to be expanded to house the ever-increasing collection."
The club also has a smoking room, done in Kerala-style architecture, a corner for the elderly called `Elders' Nook', and a room for women and children called `Anthapuram'.
"The infrastructure has been developed to keep pace with the increase in the membership, which is more than 2,000 now. Among our members are politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and people from the film industry," says Ram Mohan. The club is also affiliated to more than 80 clubs in India and three abroad.
Cultural programmes
The club organises a host of programmes for its members. "The budget for the New Year's eve festivities comes to Rs. 10 lakhs. We also get a lot of sponsors," says Ram Mohan.
Musical nites are held regularly, the most recent being a S. P. Balasubramaniam nite. Apart from this, the Club Day, Members' Day, Children's Day and Sports Day are also organised on a regular basis.
Magazine
The Trivandrum Club also brings out an in-house journal, The Second Home, three or four times a year. The journal provides a platform for the members to express their creativity and also contains snapshots of events conducted by the club such as cultural programmes, elections and general body meetings. Poems, essays, interesting facts, reminisces, all find their way into The Second Home. The journal has seen contributions from the likes of Malayatoor Ramakrishnan, Dr. Babu Paul, and others. In its second year, it won the second prize at the All-India In-House Magazine Competition, conducted by Trivandrum Press Club.
The history of Trivandrum Club is replete with interesting anecdotes. A British woman is said to have given birth at the club. The cradle of the baby is still to be found at the club, says a member. Since the club owns its assets, it was able to donate 13 cents of prime land a few years ago for road widening activities, he adds. It also allows the members to dress in their traditional costume. "It has been decades since the British left the country but many clubs disallow traditional Indian dresses. Not here. Members can wear the mundu at all times, provided they wear it modestly," he says. He recalls what Vasu, headwaiter of the club, used to say about the transformation the club had undergone over the years. "The British used to come to the club after 6-30 p.m. after dinner and would stay on till 9-30 p.m. The club would close for the day at 10 p.m. Now, people drop in only by 9-30 p.m."
Says P. Chidambaram, member for the past 46 years: "The club used to have good food and sporting activities such as tennis and billiards earlier. Those were the days of prohibition and only Europeans could have drinks."
The cook of the club during the pre-Independence period continued for some 10 years after India gained freedom, Chidambaram recalls. The club culture has undergone a change, he says. "Earlier, the members were few. And the club used to be a true sangamam. Now, though we meet the new members, the bonhomie is absent," he says.
The Tennis Club on the premises.
A similar thought is echoed by former president, G. Harindran. "A club is about people who have common interests. No common factor can be found among the members these days but it still is a nice place to be in."
Recalling the early Fifties, Harindran says: "Very few Indians were members of the club in those days. The gates of the club used to be open and one could see European women in skirts playing tennis on the courts where the Subramaniam Hall now stands. The lounge was a dance floor earlier with teak flooring. The dances could not be seen from the road, however, because of the big trees and the thick foliage." Today, the teak is all painted over, the ballroom does not exist and many trees have been cut down.
"These reflect the cultural change in the club. It became a male bastion. Women stopped visiting the club till the late 1980s. The cutting down of trees also destroyed the ambience of the club. It, however, was necessary to provide more facilities to the members," says Harindran.
The club continues to be green haven though. It has many rare trees, especially Frankincense (kundirikyam). Writer Paul Zachariah says in a recent issue of The Second Home that the tree is known for cleaning the air and acting as a mosquito repellent. Ram Mohan has an additional snippet to part with. He says that no birds or bats perch on this tree for long. The British planted these trees probably because they could sit in the shade of the Frankincense and enjoy their food and drink without being bothered by bird droppings.
R. K. ROSHNI
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
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Kochi
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Visakhapatnam
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