The Tollygunge Club (
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
: টালিগঞ্জ ক্লাব), popularly called Tolly, is a
country club in India, located in
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South In ...
in south
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
Sir
William Cruikshank established the club as an equestrian sports facility in 1895 to "promote all manner of sports". It is spread over , with a clubhouse that is over 200 years old.
History
The extensive grounds of the club were originally an
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
plantation laid out in 1781 by the Johnson family, who were amongst the pioneers of the plantation industry in India.
Later the grounds were to become a royal park at the heart of the princely estate established by the exiled family of
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...
, the deposed ruler of
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...
and the house which the Johnsons had built as their home became the garden house of the new Mysore Estate.
In 1895, the entire property was acquired from the Mysore family by the Tollygunge Club Limited and the old Johnson home is today the club's clubhouse.
Natural surroundings
The club grounds boast an enviable collection of flowering trees and tropical plants, many of which have been brought from far afield as Australia and South America. These provide a natural sanctuary for a variety of exotic birds. Birds & Trees of Tolly, written by Kushal Mookherjee, explores these in greater detail.
Facilities
Sporting Facilities
*
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
- 18 holes, par 70, .
*
Squash - 4 glass backed indoor courts.
*
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
- 4 clay courts; 2 hard courts (all outdoor).
*
Swimming - 1 Covered
pool; 1 outdoor pool; 1 outdoor Jacuzzi
*
Riding - Horses and children's ponies available. Riding classes are conducted twice a day.
*
Billiards - 2 tables. Also, 1 pool table.
* Health Club - Health and fitness centre with sauna and steam bath.
Other Facilities
*
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
& Catering - Airconditioned and Outdoor Bars. Indian, Chinese and Continental Cuisine.
*
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
- Regular Bridge sessions in Bridge Room.
* Cyber Cafe, Conferencing and Banqueting facilities.
* Transcend at the Tolly - A salon in collaboration with
L'Oréal
L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...
Professional, Paris.
*
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...
Spa
* Accommodation - 70 Air-conditioned double suites in Grand Stand, Tolly Towers & Tolly Terrace.
* Food & Beverages - 4 restaurants, 5 bars, Wills Lounge, 3 banquet halls, Kwality Walls ice-cream parlour.
* Spencers Convenience store
See also
*
List of India's gentlemen's clubs
External links
Golf courses in IndiaThe Tollygunge Club
Sport in Kolkata
Golf clubs and courses in India
1895 establishments in India
Sports venues completed in 1895
{{golfcourse-stub