President’s Message
MISSING THE CLUB CULTURE
“Stay home, stay safe” may be the new mantra of the day but to tell you the truth I am missing my home… Not the one I
share with my wife and kids but my ‘sanctum sanctorum’ – the place I head to after office most evenings for a cup of
coffee, a Kejriwal and then some bhel puri.
In an urban octopus like Mumbai, where one is sucked into a fast paced, stressful life, we are in dire need for a place to ‘hang out’ as the kids say and forget about the ‘annoyances of daily life’, meet friends, play a sport or simply relax. The Club Culture is a part of our ethos and most of us feel incomplete having had to stay
away from these hallowed institutions for a few months.
The senior citizens who meet for bridge daily are lost without their routine and I’m told they are learning to play bridge online with each other; but it’s not the same. You cannot meet the ‘samples’ you see at a club anywhere else.
The perennial bachelor who lives at the club from morning to evening or the dowager ladies who still call the waiter’s “Boy” and hand out a rupee coin as a tip with a flourish!
The kanjoos millionaire member who orders soup at teatime because it comes with a complimentary slice of buttered toast, instead of a pot of tea!
Aah! I can go on! In fact, all of us, including myself, have some idiosyncrasy or the other that is probably the criteria for being a club member.
Groucho Marx once said, “Any club that will have me is not worth becoming a member of.” Am not sure whether to agree or disagree with him on this one!
So until I can drive through the majestic treelined boulevard, I shall bide my time reminiscing and cherishing the happy memories so many of us are privileged to have had as members of these prestigious clubs.
Framroze Mehta
President