Enjoy Delhi

The Delhi gymkhana is one of the oldest clubs in the country and a hallowed institution where there the waiting period for an admission is usually 30 years. This was started in 1913, as Delhi Imperial Gymkhana, and Spencer Harcourt Butler was its first president. After independence the word imperial was dropped and it has been called Delhi Gymkhana henceforth. Usha Nath was the first Indian president.
This club is primarily a sporting club and boasts of 26 grass courts and 7 synthetic and clay courts all of which are flood lit. The grass courts are compared to the best in the world and are the best kept. An overwhelming preference for synthetic courts recently has also increased the number of the same. May tournaments of national and international repute has been played on these courts. Apart from tennis, the club has great facilities for billiards, squash and swimming. It has 3 squash courts and a large indoor swimming pool with heating facilities.
The gymkhana is situated in the heart of the city, in Safdurjung road which is the heart of a posh residential colony. It was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens as per his vision for New Delhi. In-fact the whole Gymkhana is built over a land filled with stones and was supposedly a battle field. Its colonial architecture and facade lend the old world charm to its hallowed precincts.
Delhi Gymkhana has the great food to offer to suit you palette. The dining rooms are spacious and the decor is reminds that of an army mess anteroom. Apart from the members dining room there are family dining rooms and a Kashmir Lawn restaurant. Dining is a pleasant experience in the Gymkhana club.
The library is one of the largest in the country with over 30,000 titles. The reading rooms are pleasant and the Gymkhana has a special reading room for children. The library also conducts special workshops for children during the summer months.
For those members on the move, the Gymkhana also provides accommodation. The stay is pleasant and guests can be entertained at a minimal cost. The party scene is the best in Delhi with Thursdays being the appointed day. Various events are organized for members and if one can wrangle an invite from the attendees you can have a rocking Thursday night of your life.
The health club has the state of the art equipment and trainers who help you get the work out you would cherish. Apart from all the activities the Gymkhana organizes enlightening talks on the current political and social issues. It also drives socially relevant activities like a blood donation camps for the members.
The membership is for the who’s who of the country. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and the Delhi chief Ministers are members of the club. The young turks like Rahul Gandhi has been admitted in to precincts recently. The membership fees range from 30000 rupees for a government official to 60000 rupees for a non government personnel. The waiting list is long and the club can be deemed the creme-DE-la-creme of the society.

The contact details are as follows
Phone :011- 23015531 – 35, 011-23012773
Address: Delhi Gymkhana Club
2, Safdarjung Road,
New Delhi – 110011

Fax : 23010584
URL: www.delhigymkhana.org
Email : delhigymkhana@hotmail.com

Location on Google Maps:

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If you believe in the epithet “work hard and party harder and play golf always” then Delhi Gymkhana is the right fit for you.

Imagine a place where there is a kilometer long lane of cars parked on both sides of the road, where there is a large number of Delhi’s families coming there with just family members, or with extended family to spend a fun filled evening. There is ice-cream, cold drinks, and many kinds of small snacks available over there. And the place is slightly colder than the heat of the city. And of course, there are the wide green lawns, and a beautifully lighted India Gate at one end, and the lighting of the North Block / South Block at the other end.
When we reached there, parking was an issue; there were so many people who had already reached there. Eventually we found parking closer to the Boat Club side, and then walked to the India Gate side. The sight that we saw brought a lot of smiles – there were kids playing football (with other kids or with an indulgent elder\parent), there were extended families playing either cards or antakshari (a songalathon) with sheets spread on the greenery.
And then there were the families with extended eating plans – bed sheets, tiffin carriers, casseroles, big jars full of either water or some sort of liquid, topped with ice cream from the large number of ice cream vendors selling their wares. In the partial darkness of the night, one could also see something lighted suddenly going up in the air and coming down again. Getting closer, one could clearly see that these were actually kids toys. We did not do most of these things, but just indulged in walking casually from one end to the other end (tip: I think that the lighting of the India Gate gets turned off at 10 PM, since that is what actually happened dot at 10 PM). Other than that, some chanas and some stale bhelpuris were consumed.
While watching all these families enjoying themselves, I also thought about the people who were all doing the selling, whether that be the ice cream sellers, the people selling the snacks, or the people selling the toys; and the policemen over there who were there to help others. These people, watching entire families enjoying themselves, must be feeling something – or maybe they have spent so much time that they no longer feel different (but I doubt that).

Kuki suddenly came into the celebrity news when it got reported that Karishma’s husband had taken Kareena and Saif Ali Khan to the pub, and when a photographer tried to take their photos, his camera had all the photos deleted. But leaving aside this juicy tidbit, Kuki has gathered some name as a trendy place to be in, a welcome addition to Delhi’s nightlife; it now brings in a fair number of the rich and famous, and the happening people. Most people find the decor of the club – large butterflies (in red) suspended from the ceiling, and not limited to that; they are like the motif for the club, being imprinted on the uniform of waiters, present on the walls, and even on the coasters.
Like many other places (or maybe to give competition), Wednesday is the ladies night at Kuki, and like most other nightclubs, the weekends are the most busy. The good part is that this is a 3 storey establishment, so if you can’t squeeze in on the ground floor, then move to the first floor. The DJ console is also located on the first floor, and is manned by the owner, DJ Rummmy on Thursday.
The place can be a bit on the expensive side, with the excellent cocktails costing around Rs. 300-450 (but not too expensive when you consider that most places with a similar reputation and decor would cost around the same or maybe more). The place itself has got good service, and maintains an air that would keep you coming back for more.

Location: Greater Kailash- next to Smoke House Grill and Imperial Garden
E 7, Greater Kailash II,
Masjid Moth Commercial Complex
Phone: 29225241

How many people are there in Delhi who would not have heard of the Surjakund Mela ? A fair number of people would have also taken the trouble to go to the Surajkund complex of Haryana tourism during the time of the mela, attracted by the cultural experience. The Mela also promises to be a great experience of foreign tourists who get a sample of the Indian countryside not far from Delhi.
Reaching there is not difficult, one needs to head onto Mathura road till just before Badarpur border and ask for directions from there. It is not very far from there, and is located in Faridabad district. The Mela is organized ever year from Feb 1 – Feb 15 and begins from 9.30 a.m. and closes at 5.30 p.m. each evening, and has been in existence from 1981; the fair celebrates its 28th version in 2008. The Mela has been the brainchild of Harayana tourism as a way to showcase the cultural experience of the Indian rural area, focusing on a different state everytime, and has been a spectacular success.
The mela has some specific objectives, such as:
1. To create a rural ambience for the foreign and domestic tourist to see
2. To educate patrons both from abroad, urban centres and educational institutes about the fascinating technique and skills involved in craft creation
3. To introduce crafts and craftspersons directly to the buyers and help them find their patrons
4. To Identify, nurture and preserve languishing crafts of the country and save it for posterity
In addition to the culture, the fortnight long celebrations also come as a food festival. Some of the popular food traditions from Punjab come at the Punjabi ‘Rasoi’. South Indian delicacies come in from South Indian Section. Popular Chinese and snack foods also arrive for the event along with a special stalls where patrons are introduced to the traditional foods and sweet meats of the selected theme State.
Skilled artisans from all over the country display the rich crafts tradition of India in the typical setting of a rural Indian marketplace. Cultural programmes and rural cuisine are also a part of this colourful fair. The fair also provides a meeting ground for the talented painters, weavers, sculptors and craftsmen form all over India who exhibit their creations and the arts and crafts lovers who flock here to admire and purchase these creations.

Some beautiful photos of the Mela at this link.