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Ambience of grandeur continues
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We begin this week, a series on the various clubs in the city and suburbs. The first is the Rama Varma Club, in the heart of Kochi, which continues to redefine its elegant past. It is the oldest club in the State.
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NESTLING IN the heart of the city is the Rama Varma Club, home to the elite and ambitious in the cosmopolitan metropolis of Kochi. According to its current President N. Haridas, the club, which was started in 1897, is "one of the oldest in South India and the oldest in Kerala."
A club is born
In the last years of the 19th century, a group of local sportsmen had approached the Maharaja for "grant of a suitable building where they could spend the evening hours in congenial surrounding and company and indulge in physical and recreational activities after office and court work." On 12 February 1897, a letter from the Diwan of Cochin was handed over to the late Justice K. Narayana Marar. It said in simple words - "I have the honour to inform you that His Highness has been pleased to allow the use, for the purpose of the proposed club, of the Sirkar Building recently vacated by the Ex-Diwan, V. Subramaniam Pillay... "And thus, a club was born.
The first meeting of the managing committee was held on 3 June 1897. Significant years have rolled by since then and today the Rama Varma Club boasts of a total of 1,268 members. Haridas says that the club is currently admitting new members to its fold. The institutional membership costs Rs. 2 lakhs while a life membership requires you to pay Rs.1, 10,000. Ordinary members are admitted at Rs. 75,000 but they are required to pay Rs. 40 every month. "Membership is open to all those who maintain the dignity of the club," says Haridas.
New members, to be admitted, have to obtain the recommendation of six existing members of the club. The managing committee is responsible for the final approval of the new memberships. Professionals and those in business currently constitute the bulk of the club's members.
Modern amenities
The Rama Varma Club has all the facilities that you would require in an institution of such eminence. In the year 1970, a comprehensive expansion programme was initiated. Later, in 1996, construction of the centenary hall and sports complex was initiated. The air-conditioned centenary hall can accommodate more than a thousand persons. The hall is used for seminars and musical concerts. It has state-of-the-art facilities, is echo free and has generator back-up. There is a separate bridal make-up room and a special `pandal' for vegetarian sadyas. In-house catering provides Kerala, Indian, Chinese and continental cuisine.
There is a health club on the premises, an air-conditioned library, facilities for tennis, badminton and table tennis and billiards tables, which are even used for major competitions. Every year, the club plays host to several major tournaments at the district and State levels. The functioning bars at the club are of two kinds - smoking and non-smoking. The club has residential rooms including suites and an air-conditioned dormitory.
Future plans
Speaking of the developmental activities that are likely to be taken up at the club, Haridas points out that there is a proposal for a three-storey building to be erected. "There will most probably be 12 living rooms on the first and second floors and a roof top garden."
Keeping in mind their social obligations, many club members currently meet the educational expenses of some poor and deserving students, says Haridas. The club has also donated expensive lockers to many educational institutions. The Rama Varma Club is affiliated to several other prominent clubs in the State, in other parts of India and also overseas.
AJAY MENON
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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