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For the whole family
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With a variety of excellent facilities, its prominent family club tag and with every member turning co-owner of its assets, the Century Club has become a hot favourite.
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THE CENTURY Club was started in 1988. It shifted to its current location at Vennala in 1991. "Babu C. George, a leading NRI businessman, was instrumental in taking the initiative to start the club," says K. J. Kuriakose, current President of the club. Mr. George remained President for nearly 15 years, from 1988 to 2003, and oversaw many of the developmental activities of the club, Mr. Kuriakose adds.
At present, the Century Club has over 800 members. "This is first and foremost a family club," says Mathen Varghese, the current Secretary of the club. "Our club is only for married people," he asserts.
Membership is now open here. Institutional membership for nominees of registered companies is available at Rs. 120,000. An institutional membership entitles the holder to two voting rights. Life membership at the club costs Rs.60, 000. George Philip, the manager of the club, says that ordinary membership is available at Rs.50, 000 with an additional charge of Rs.60 per month. The Century Club has a special category called permanent membership "wherein one membership can be transferred to the next generation."
The club here is now endowed with a host of facilities. A large swimming pool of extremely high quality adorns the premises. There is also an indoor badminton court and a cards room where the members can enjoy themselves. Facilities are also available for table tennis. There are two conference halls at the club. The air-conditioned one has a capacity of 50 while the non air-conditioned hall can hold a total of 100 persons. Additionally, there is a licensed air-conditioned bar, while residential rooms are also available at the club. Mr. Philip adds that the parking area is large enough to hold 100 plus vehicles.
Mr. Kuriakose points out that the gymnasium or health club is quite widely used. "We have a family restaurant where a multi-cuisine menu provides members with a wide choice of dishes. In addition to this a lawn restaurant is also functional at the club." For children, there is a special play area where they can enjoy themselves immensely. The club also has a reading room.
The Century Club has affiliations with 22 clubs in India. These clubs are located at Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ooty, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kozhikode and many other cities. "The latest club to which the Century Club has been affiliated is the Indian Gymkhana Club in Bangalore," informs Mr. Phillip.
The Century Club pays special attention to its members so that their weekends are enjoyable. On all Saturday evenings there is a dinner meeting at the club. These family get-togethers are "made special by melodious performances." During festivals like Onam, there are special celebrations at the club. A unique feature at the Century Club is a ladies' club for meetings and family get-togethers. Cooking classes are organised here and coaching camps for various activities are also available. Mr. Kuriakose says that the latest addition to the club will be a pool restaurant, which will come up shortly.
The club gives merit awards to the children of members for outstanding academic performances by them. In addition to all these activities the club is also involved in charitable activities. For example, it bestows contributions to the needy so that they can build houses for themselves.
Interestingly, according to the brochure of the Century Club, "the land, buildings and all other assets worth Rs.3 crores at Century are fully and legally owned by the club members. So, when you come in as a member, you automatically become a co-owner of the club and all its assets."
AJAY MENON
Photo by Mahesh Harilal
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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