bangalore diary: bangalore club

the bangalore club is one of the oldest clubs in india. it was started by the british over a hundred years ago along the lines of the old english country clubs. it was originally meant for the exclusive use of those serving the british army but is now mostly a civilian club. sir winston churchill was a member of the club as was the maharaja of mysore who was the first indian to be granted membership.

i had sunday brunch at the club last weekend after ages. when i was growing up in bangalore, i spent almost every sunday at the bangalore club for more than ten years. my mom was a fabulous badminton player and my father a fabulous tennis player so they spent every sunday playing their respective games all morning long. this was then followed by a typical bangalore club brunch - a never ending flow of draught beer, roasted penauts with raw onions and chillies, paneer tikkas and lots of other salty and fried snacks!



this was always topped up with a special treat to my favourite ice cream - kwality's chocobar. plain vanilla ice cream coated with chocolate. simply delicious.



it was so fun to relive a little bit of my childhood last weekend. though bangalore has changed drastically (population, pollution, traffic etc), the club itself has retained its quintessential colonial charm. the old trees, the lush lawns, the century old buildings and the archaic club rules are a nice antidote to the increasingly urbanised city that is hurtling at break neck speed. when i am at the bangalore club, i feel like time has been suspended and i'm in a universe of its very own. quite a lovely feeling.