KOCHI: In the 1950s, during the twilight years of the Empire, London was a cold and strange place for migrants. For many Indians here, plagued by the persistent thought that they didn’t quite belong, building a ‘home’ beyond their dingy flats was crucial. This meant seeking out a wider Indian community and a quest for food basking in the flavours of their homeland’s spices. India Club, tucked away on the Strand, offered both.
Founded in 1951 by a clutch of luminaries, including Krishna Menon, who went on to become the first Indian High Commissioner to the UK, India Club was intended to be a place “where young Indians [in London] could afford to eat, discuss politics, and plan their futures,” says Parvathi Raman of the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies, SOAS London.
For nearly 70 years, the Club offered a taste of home through traditional Indian dishes like butter chicken and masala dosas, cultural events, and social gatherings. Now, after a long, protracted battle to preserve it, the heritage establishment, which has its origins in India’s independence struggle, is set to close in September.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of the India Club. September 17 will be the last day we open to the public,” wrote Yadgar Marker and his daughter Phiroza, its current proprietors.
The development came after the building’s owner, Marston Properties, announced its decision to demolish it to set up a modern hotel. The news of this closure has come as a shock to many.
Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan, the daughter of Chandran Tharoor, one of the Club’s founders, remembers it as a warm and wonderful place.
“The India Club conjures an image of my father’s time in London in the late 40s and 50s. It was a place where Indians could gather and find fellowship. My father took my homesick mother to the club often so that she had an opportunity to meet other Indians. My mother remembers that our father used to spend a lot of time at the Club,” she told TNIE.
One of the Club’s earliest stalwarts, Chandran’s photos now adorn its lounge walls. Long-time patrons would also remember that the club was the venue for Chandran’s famous ottamthullal performance, based on a satirical Malayalam poem he wrote about life in London during those days.
For Shrabani Basu, the author of Victoria and Abdul, the India Club “was a watering hole” for young Indian journalists like her in the 1980s. They met for beer and pakoras.
“Upstairs in the restaurant, sitting under the framed photographs of Gandhi, Nehru and Krishna Menon, it felt like the coffee houses back home,” she said.“India Club was a secret entrance to a past world: a little slice of Indo-British history on the Strand. It will be sorely missed,” Shrabani told TNIE.
Sangeeta Waldron, who was in talks with acclaimed designer Rina Dhaka at the India Club on August 23, rues that their conversation, a Bridge India event, is likely the last that the establishment will host on Strand.
“The India Club is like an old friend to many, full of quirky charm and part of London’s cultural history. Last night it was buzzing, and you could hardly move. I think people are coming to say their goodbyes,” Sangeeta said.
Pratik Dattani of Bridge India, which has held numerous events at India Club, said, “London will be culturally poorer for its loss.” Kochi native George Abraham, the director of PwC, shares the sentiment. The India Club was the place where he’d introduced many an English friend to a masala dosa. “It was a home away from home,” he told TNIE.
While most only know of an India Club nestled in the grand architecture around Strand, there was a time when it used to function from Craven Street. According to patrons, the move did not impair the “time capsule” that this establishment is. TNIE has learnt that the Club’s management is looking for alternative premises to operate from.
Whatever transpires, when the sun sets over the Thames on September 17, casting a warm glow on the India Club’s windows, a place that has witnessed history in the making, where countless stories have unfolded, and where friendships have been forged would close its doors for the final time.