Eleanor Roosevelt speaking at the club in 1952 Lady Hydari Club was an elite club exclusive to women in the erstwhile

Hyderabad state Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

in India. It was located in what is now the Old Gandhi Medical College near

Basheerbagh Basheerbagh is a neighbourhood of importance in Hyderabad. Now it is a commercial and business centre. The area's importance has increased because of its close proximity to other bigger commercial areas such as Abids, Koti, Nampally and Hima ...

History

The club was started in 1929 by Lady Amina Hydari so that women could play tennis and socialise. The club is named in commemoration of Lady Amina Hydari, wife of Sir Akbar Hydari, President of the Nizam's Executive Council, 1938–42. It was used by both elite Indian and British women and The Hyderabad Ladies' Association Club which was founded in 1901. In 1952 there was a conference of social workers at the club. One of the speakers was

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

The Club

The building was designed by Zain Yar Jung. It featured a special entrance which allowed veiled women (

zenana Zenana (, "of the women" or "pertaining to women"; ; ; ) is the part of a house belonging to a Muslim family in the Indian subcontinent, which is reserved for the women of the household. The zenana was a product of Indo-Islamic culture and was ...

) to be delivered by car and enter without being seen. The large entrance foyer opened out onto rooms and halls. Women could play Tambola, cards or

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

or take lessons in cooking or needlework. The club use to organize an annual tennis tournament for women. The club was at one time the fashionable location for weddings. The club once ran a school for the poor of the area and it had a library of Urdu, Telugu and English books.

Present

The club building was annexed to be part of the

Gandhi Medical College Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (GMC) is a public medical college in Secunderabad, India. It is affiliated with Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences. The college was originally affiliated to NTR University of Health Sciences ...

in 1986. The college felt that the space used by the club was too lavish and the club was obliged to allow the college to use it. In 2011 the club had 120 members but its buildings were in need of renovation.

Notable members

* Amina Hydari, wife of Sir Akbar Hydari, Prime Minister of Hyderabad State * Nilüfer Hanımsultan, an Ottoman princess who married Moazzam Jah,

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

's son.

References

{{Reflist Culture of Hyderabad, India Hyderabad State Organizations established in 1929 Women's organisations based in India 1929 establishments in India Women from Hyderabad State People from Hyderabad State