On Smoking... And My Club

It was great dropping in at my club, the Delhi Gymkhana, last evening, with that very bright young man, Vipin Veetil, who now writes editorials for Mint. He also blogs here.

I took him to the air-conditioned West Bar and we drank some fine wine. But soon after our first glass we had to leave, because of the smoking ban. We then went to the outdoors bar. I smoked. It was hot, and the fans weren’t working too good.

But it was great meeting all the old barmen – Ram Avdesh, Naresh and Hari – who know me for over 30 years now. You see, I am a Very Old Member of the Gymkhana, and since my memory still works, despite all the ganja, allow me to relate the story of how the club handled the smoking issue. That too, a long time ago.

In the 70s the West Bar was small and crowded – and on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when we danced, it was extremely smoky. In 1982, the club therefore opened a new East Bar. It was small, and it was a non-smoking bar. Yet it remained largely vacant. Even non-smokers preferred the West Bar, despite the smoke, because that was where the action was.

A few years ago, the West Bar was entirely refurbished. It is now three or four times bigger – and quite swanky; more like a plush hotel than a colonial club. Non-smokers still had the East Bar, but, as I said, everyone preferred to be in the West Bar, because of all the action, especially on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Then the Delhi government passed an order by which half the West Bar was reserved for non-smokers. The club implemented the order faithfully. Non-smokers now had half the West Bar in addition to the East Bar. This was a needless piece of government intervention into the internal affairs of an extremely exclusive private club.

Now, with pmk ramadoss’ ban, smokers have to sit on the lawns and drink. No music. And certainly no dancing.

But a club is private property. Indeed, the DGC is extremely exclusive private property. It takes much more than money or political power – even in Delhi – to become a member.

And the club, being “democratic” (we have elections), had already solved the smoking problem. That too, over a quarter of a century ago.

There were other smokers at the outdoors bar last evening. I held forth on private property. I trust that the virus I let loose will spread in the club's fertile and democratic environs.

My essential point was that pmk ramadoss is unlikely to ever be inducted into our club, which is more or less exclusively for officers and gentlemen. Politicos are shunned here.

I hope bonafide members who want to drink and smoke (and dance!) in air-conditioned comfort will now fight for their rights to their own, exclusive property.