00:00I snuck inside the Delhi Gymkhana for the very first time.
00:02As someone with no family contacts, here's what I saw as an absolute outsider.
00:06If you aren't a member,
00:0740 year wait period,
00:09then getting into the club is quite tough.
00:10A member helped me get into the huge 27 acre complex.
00:14400 rupees rent per year.
00:15And even though you're in the heart of Delhi,
00:17every step inside the Gymkhana will make you feel like you've stepped out of the city.
00:21A quick note, I wasn't allowed to shoot everywhere.
00:23So for the parts I couldn't record, I'll use images from their website.
00:26Designed by Robert R. Russell, the architect behind Connaught Place and Thin Moorthy House,
00:31the Gymkhana looks unmistakably British.
00:33Step inside one of the buildings,
00:34and if your mind begins to play a Mozart symphony, you are not alone.
00:38The reception has evolved with the names of former presidents,
00:40most of whom are retired military officers and senior bureaucrats.
00:44Walking past the reception brings you to a majestic ballroom,
00:47one of the few surviving colonial era club ballrooms in India.
00:50On the sides of the ballroom, you will see a billiards room and a pool room.
00:54I then wandered over to the tennis courts.
00:56A member with complete sincerity said that these were the best courts east of Wimbledon.
01:01I can't verify that claim, but I can say for sure that the courts were quite well maintained.
01:05The club has squash courts and a swimming pool too, which has a very interesting story.
01:09Lady Wellington, the wife of a sore a free man,
01:11couldn't find a decent place to swim in all of Delhi.
01:13So she donated Rs 21,000 toward building a pool here.
01:16It was quite heartening to see people in their 70s effortlessly swimming backstroke laps,
01:21still enjoying Lady Wellington's dream.
01:23And then I made my way to the place that's dominating most news debates, the bar.
01:27The club also houses a popular coffee shop, but access, once again, is restricted to members.
01:32And then there's the much-talked-about Punjab National Bank ATM inside the club.
01:36The club has been accused of subletting a part of the premises,
01:39which is situated on the land originally owned by the government.
01:41With that, my time at the Gymkhana was up.
01:43Unfortunately, without being able to see the dining rooms and guest houses,
01:47the centre's notice has asked the Delhi Gymkhana club to hand over possession of the premises by June 5.
01:52And the facts and controversies surrounding the case are already fixtures of prime-time debates.
01:57But that's a story for another video.
01:58This was simply my experience of visiting the Delhi Gymkhana.
Comments