Top 10 Heritage clubs of kolkata – The club culture of Kolkata

The club culture of Kolkata is one of the old yet unique cultures of the city of joy. Kolkata has encountered several popular clubs over a period of modernization. The club’s culture started in the British era but to everyone’s surprise, it still remains immortal and in the modern area of nightclub and parties these clubs still stands still with their roots of dignity and elegance dug deep which keeps nurturing over time by the people of kolkata.In today’s era, the club culture still remains elite in terms of membership with a waiting list which make it more fascinating for people. The events in the clubs are a bit traditional and annual for example the famous Christan lunches.

If we tell that the club culture of kolkata is mostly traditional, then we may be a bit wrong as the culture has gradually changed and adapted itself over a period of time. As time changed, the club culture also evolved with time to match the generation of today, Yes we may tell that the transformation was a bit slow with the course of time.

The clubs of Calcutta are well maintained and members have some added benefits than ever on the money spent on the purchase of the membership of the club. The joining fees of the clubs are relatively lower than in any other metro city in the country. The cost of food and drinks are still nominal charges and pretty much affordable.

We made a list of the most important/heritage clubs of Kolkata & tried bringing up things in a sorted format for the new generation in order to preserve some history.

THE BENGAL CULB

The Bengal Club is one of the oldest and finest clubs of Kolkata established in 1827 it is still considered one of the finest clubs of India. standing in 2023 the club is almost 196 years old but it is still known for its ancient architectural beauty and is also visited by corporate elite to spend some quality time. The Bengal Club of Kolkata is also entitled to the list of platinum clubs in the world. Finch CB became the first president of the Bengal club called Kolkata under the rule of the British Empire. But gradually as years passed and it rolled down to 1959. The Bengal Club of Kolkata opened doors to Indian members also. And from the year 1990, the club also started accepting females as members of the club. After the independence of India, the Bengal Club still remains rich and vivid in terms of its cuisine, art and culture.

The Bengal Club of Kolkata has a wide variety of facilities.

BUSINESS CENTRE, LIBRARY, BARBOUR SHOP, RAYNOLDS ROOM, TERRACE ROOM, BANQUETS, FINE DINING, BAR

Location- Chowringee Rd, Park Street area, Kolkata, West Bengal 700071

If you are looking to get a membership of the Bengal Club of Kolkata then kindly visit their official website to go through the rules and the terms and conditions in the given link below.

THE CALCUTTA CLUB

Established in 1907 the Calcutta club remains a popular social hub for the wealthy members of the city of joy. The club was notable because it was founded in such a time in which clubs only accepted white members. But the Calcutta Club of Kolkata welcomed everyone with equality the first president of the club was the Maharaja of cooch behar. The first prime minister of India Mr. Jawaharana Nehru also visited the club in 1961. Today the club stands as an iconic and remarkable landmark of the city and especially to Bengali the Calcutta club is indeed a feeling of nostalgia with its rich culture and the history it preserved for decades.

If you are thinking of becoming a member of this elite landmark of Kolkata, we will request you to kindly visit their website at the given link below.

The members of the Calcutta club have a wide range of facilities starting from a residential room banquet and conference tennis court health club billiard club card rooms mean pool, a parlour and a barber shop. The club is also armed with a Chinese restaurant, a tandoor corner, a wine, and a cigar bar.

To encounter modernization and keep nature in mind, the club has also taken several green initiatives like solar power generation, a composite plan to turn waste into manure, rainwater, harvesting, sewage treatment to reduce carbon fruit prints and many more

THE TOLLYGUNGE CLUB

Founded in 1895 with a combined effort of the British merchant and bankers. The club is one of the renowned clubs in the city and is also considered among the top 20 clubs in the world. It has a wide area of over 100 acres and has an also unique collection of flora and fauna which is very rare in terms of the club culture in Kolkata.

It offers a wide range of facilities in terms of sports like golf, tennis, squash, indoor and outdoor swimming, riding and amateur sports and some other facilities like a unisex saloon, herbal ayurvedic centre, exclusive gym, etc. Basically seeing the facilities of the club and the nature, we can tell that the Tollygunge club of Kolkata is on a mission to promote sports of all manner.

As we already told you, the club is armed with a wide range of flora and fauna. It provides a beauty of a natural century to watch a variety of exotic birds, flowering trees and tropical plants.

In terms of food, you can find four restaurants serving quality food and beverages. 5 bars, three banquet halls and a kwality walls Ice cream parlour also

Location 120, Deshpran Sasmal Rd, Tollygunge Golf Club, Tollygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal 700033

CALCUTTA CRICKET AND FOOTBALL CLUB

The Calcutta Cricket Football Club Of Kolkata was founded in 1792 and is also considered one of the oldest clubs in Kolkata and also internationally. In 1792 it was basically a cricket institution but later in 1872 football was also added to it and hence the name Calcutta Cricket and football club. The club in Ballygunge is almost 231 years old and almost have a capacity of 22,000. Later rugby section was also added to the Calcutta Cricket and football club of Kolkata and it is recognized as one of the oldest rugby institutions outside the United Kingdom.

The sport that is still practised inside the Calcutta cricket club of Kolkata are cricket football field hockey, rugby cycle polo, swimming, tennis and bridge

SATURDAY CLUB

the Saturday club was first established in 1875 by the white people who were ruling India at that point in time. the Saturday Club of Kolkata is one of the most renowned and prestigious clubs in Kolkata since then. The Saturday Club of Kolkata displays an ambience of British culture along with a mixture of Indian heritage

The Saturday CULB of Kolkata is armed with badminton court billiard in the swimming pool, restaurant shop, fast food shop, residential place, children’s playground, lawn beauty parlour, health club, libraries, saloon, bar and some food options such as continental, Chinese and choice of Indian food also.

CALCUTTA SOUTH CLUB

Established in 1920 is mainly famous for its long tennis lawn. The club has an electrifying environment with aesthetics and beautiful lights. The interior and decoration of the interior is simple and very soothing to the eyes. The club almost covers an area of 4000 meters square.  Basically, the club also portrays the beautiful architecture and the beauty of its time.

Location 2/1,Wood Burn Park Rd, Opposite Forum Mall, Kolkata, West Bengal 700020

THE BENGAL ROWING CLUB

The Bengal rowing club of Kolkata was first established by the name of the Marwadi Club which started working on its path from the 25th of August 1929. After that, it took a long amount of time to organize and position things around the Ravindra Sarovar Lake up till 1935. Then suddenly the rowing activities of the club were paused or suspended due to World War ll, between the time of 1942 to 45 because the area was required by the army. As the name suggests the Bengal ring club started its rowing activity with 18 rowing boards which were imported from London in the year 1936. There were many transformations and transitions of the club until the modern day it is almost converted into a sporting club with advanced infrastructure and training facilities.

ROYAL CALCUTTA GOLF CLUB

Established in 1829 Royal Kolkata golf club of Kolkata is one of the oldest golf clubs in India and the first outside Great Britain. The Royal Calcutta golf club of Kolkata serves as a green Oasis to the city of joy and is also home to fox snakes and mongoose as well as many words. The club is 18 hole golf club and is one of a kind club in the City of Joy.

The royal golf club of Kolkata is armed with ample practice facilities including a driving range, chipping green and putting green. There are some pro shops with caddies available to hire and some also exclusive facilities like multiple bars, restaurants with dining options, a tennis court, swimming pool, gymnasium and a lawn bowling green.

THE LAKE CLUB

The Lake Club of Kolkata situated at Ravindra Sarobar was upgraded on the 27th of August 1932. Apart from the land of dhakuria lake was taken on lease from the Kolkata improvement trust at an amount of rupees 1 per year with the motive of setting up a rowing club for Indians meeting together under the leadership of Deshopriyo Jatindra Mohan Singh Gupta. The lake club of Kolkata is considered one of the premium rowing clubs in India.

DALHOUSIE INSTITUTE  

The Dalhousie Institute of Kolkata was formally established in 1859 though, at the start of the institute, it was not a social club. No drinks were served and no ladies were permitted inside the club as members till 1887 do things have changed today? It is almost converted into a social club which offers facilities like James, swimming pool, tennis billiards, badminton, table tennis, darts and bridge, etc to its member. The club also has its own cricket and football team which is one of the top teams of kolkata. Basically, the dollhouse sequel institute is serving as a family club of Kolkata in the modern generation. The club is now also armed with a food court which allows all its members to spend some spare time out of the on kitchens. It also has a children’s park which also attracts youngsters.