Travel » Country Club at Bangalore

Country Clubs cater to the Bangalorean’s need to get away, to swim, play tennis, throw a party, or just enjoy a break outdoors

A young subaltern named Winston Churchill left India shores without paying the few rupees he owed the Bangalore Club. The club authorities have retained his name, as debtor, on their records a these decades.

The Bangalore Club dates back to 1868 and some very old members here remember it as the Bus Club, the acronym for Bangalore United Services Club. It was in institutions like these that the British lifestyle, their dress code, etc was preserved in colonial times.

Such dubs were formed by people of similar professions, interests or communities. Bangalore, being a cantonment town, had military officers like Winston Churchill as club members. The ladies were allowed in only at the cottage and annex, quaintly called "dove cot", used for social get-togethers. The only Indian invited to use the dub in those days was the Maharaja of Mysore; thereafter, in 1918, the first Indian was given membership. The Bus Club was later renamed Bangalore Club.

Interestingly, 1868 was also the year when the Literary and Scientific Institute came into being. A small group of British intellectuals rented modest quarters for this purpose but 20 years later moved into an imposing building on St Mark’s Road. Later called the Bowring Institute after L. B. Bowring, the then Chief Commissioner, this club emphasizes sport and entertainment as much as intellectual pursuits.

Cubbon Park was the venue of the Century Club in 1917, founded by Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya, with the patronage of the royal family of Mysore. It had 100 members, which was the reason for the name. "Social clubs have a civilizing influence," Sir M.Visvesvaraya had said, "and instill social discipline that many educated people lack for want of opportunities."

Today, these prestigious institutions each have a few thousarid’inembers, and the waiting list is indeed long. It would take 15 or 20 years to get into any of them. There is a turf club, a golf club and a press club,beside local clubs like Indira Nagar Club, Vijayanagar Club, Koramangala Club. But the demand far exceeds supply. High real estate prices in urban areas, combined with lack of patronage of the type available before Independence, as also the need for a large initial investment have given rise to clubs of a different kind, located on the outskirts of the city. They cater to the BangaloreaWs need to get away from the city, to swim, play tennis, breathe fresh air or throw a party.

Most of these clubs welcome the tourist, functioning like resort hotels where room hire entitles one to use the facilities. Many others have a sys- tem of entry fee, and 15 or 20 percent higher charge for the non-member seeking entry.

The Estate Club, off Hosur Road, not far from Electronic, City, is a typical example. Set in landscaped 4.5 acres of farm land, it was intended as a recreational facility for those to whom the club’s owners had sold 10,000 sq ft plots of land after electricity, water, sewage and telephone facilities were put in place. The plot owners could become club members at a subsidized rate, but membership was kept open to others, too.

A dozen odd clubs in the city offer similar facilities: rooms, conference hall, swimming pool, restaurant, bar, cottages, billiards, table tennis and tennis court, card room, travel desk, health club, badminton, all nestling amidst greenery. Membership to the Estate Club is open, and costs Rs 21,500 for life. We recently attended an outdoor photography workshop there, conducted by the India International Photographic Council (IIPC). No delegate was a member, and the IIPC’s Bangalore chapter had negotiated a day’s presence of 30 participants who would get tea, breakfast, lunch, use of the elegant premises and the pool as venue. Lectures and photo sessions with hired glamorous models went on all day. Day conferences, product launches, training programs, seminars, parties, day / school picnics are quite usual at this club, as they are at other such clubs.

Apart from those who are not members and who can come in as a group as we had done, the facilities can also be used by out of towners, tourists and others who hire rooms or cottages. In practice, the Estate Club, and indeed almost all clubs, are essentially like resort hotels. And while lip, service is paid to the concept of membership and members do have priority, the reality is that non-members are equally welcome. Some dubs may specify use of only the swimming pool for non-members while others may bar them from billiards or charge them an entrance fee, but the Bangalorean or visitor is usually welcome.

There are a few exceptions, however. Manipal County (which used to be known as Country Club) and Sun Valley, want to retain the ambience of exclusiveness for the benefit of their members. They allow nonmembers as guests, only if accompanied by members. Similar to the Estate Club and close to Electronics City is Hotel Guestline, set in six acres. The hotel has 96 rooms and facilities like badminton, squash, billiards, multi- gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam bath, massage, card room and restaurants. The Sunny Delight package entities one to use the facilities for Rs 350 a day, with lunch and tea included.

In the opposite direction, far out to the north, in Yelahanka, is the Ramanashree California Resort Hotel, that does not even have the word club as a suffix to its name, though it has over 200 members. It is owned by Ramanashree Housing Developers International, who also run a three star hotel in the city. "Our members are from nearby townships like Yelahanka where there are large and small industries, educational institutions and so on," says R. Raj Kumar, the resort manager. "Many companies like Wipro, Motorola, Astra IDL, Tata IBM, Citicorp are regular customers with their conferences and other events."

The Ramanashree California Resort Hotel has 10 standard rooms (Rs 1,800 inclusive of tax), 14 deluxe and two suites (Rs 1,800-2,100, tax included). For groups that book rooms for residential conferences, the rates are Rs 1,600/2,200 for single/ double occupancy and include meals/teas. Their elegant restaurant is known as Dhaba and their bar, fitted out like a workshop, is called Men at Work. Both are popular.

The Resort entices the local public with a Sunday carnival. For Rs 169 per head, people can spend a jolly day with tombola, buffet lunch spread, magic show, cookery/ pottery demos, swimming, etc. (Rs 119 is the cost per child.)

Located near the Ramanashree California Resort Hotel, The Dominion claims to have 550 members. It has eight rooms (Rs 1,680, tax ineluded), 41 luxury rooms (Rs 2,160) and four cottages (Rs, 2,500). This club is open to members only but guests who hire rooms/cottages can also use the facilities. There’s a disco, too, but it was not clear if it was functioning or not. The Dominion is immaculately maintained among sprawling acres, and is well administered, like most of these clubs.

Much farther out from there, at Devanahalli, is Nirvana, a Rajani group enterprise. It is on a smaller scale but has steam and sauna facilities, an artificial lake and a swimming pool. The six cottages here are priced at Rs 750 each. While single rooms cost Rs 550, there’s even a dormitory for 50 persons for which the charges are Rs 150 per head. An entry fee of Rs 100 entitles you to use the swimming and boating facilities while sauna and steam bath are charged extra. Nirvana also has "festival days" with themes such as yoga, food, Holi, quiz, and sports, which draw customers, eg aeromodelling enthusiasts of various ages.

Leaving Bangalore’s urban sprawl behind, on the road to Mysore, is The Club (pronounced Thee Club by one and all). It is a private limited company whose aim is to reportedly provide five star facilities at club rates. Their facilities are located in a single club house, and rooms are available for hire.

Four kilometers away from The Club, off Mysore Road and into Rajarajeshwari Nagar, is the Best Club, an acronym for the Bharat Earth Movers Limited Employees Society Township Club. It was the brainchild of chairman R. Arunachalam, who used the 45-acre space for a network of facilities for the public sector BEML’s employees. Now thrown open to the public, entry fee to the Best Club is Rs 50 (Rs 25 for children). There’s also a boat club, aso-called "lazy river", three swimming pools, a mist making device that helps reduce the temperature, a hilltop cards room, a bar and three restaurants. One is at the poolside, one is in a coconut grove and the third is on the hilltop. The children’s facility is at Kidsland with swings, a beach pool with a mini waterfall.

Adjacent to the Best Club is Shakthi Hill Resorts. Located on a hillock, 14 km from the city, this haven has air-conditioned cottages, a man-made cascade, a conference hall located in a cave, five swimming pools, health club, tennis court, table tennis facilities, restaurant, etc. Accommodation is available on a variety of plans ranging from Rs 1,295 to Rs 1,600.

In yet another direction, 30 km away from the city, lies Emerald Isle, at Hoskote. It has swimming pools, waterfalls, jet slide, restaurant, bar, tennis court, skating rink, mini golf course, gymnasium, outdoor stadium and amphitheater. There are 13 rooms, and nonmembers are charged an entrance fee. Gone are the days when you had to be somebody to get into a club. As long as you have the moolah and your own transport, you may, with your family and friends, savor any one of these oases of leisure.