Lahore has a long history of exclusive clubs, whose probable origin lies in the literary ‘bhatik’ tradition of the old walled city. Come the British and they set up their own separate clubs. Today an array of them have sprouted up catering to the well-endowed.

The British took over Lahore in 1849 and before they could settle into an organised way of life, the 1857 War of Independence broke out. The social reaction of the officers of the East India Company was of suspicion of the ‘Natives’, leading to an insular view of life in the sub-continent. One outcome, which later took different forms and permutations of prejudice, was the ‘others’ and ‘them’ way of thinking. In a way our bureaucrats even today suffer from this ailment. It led to the racist segregation of ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’ signs coming up in the first British clubs.

The very first club in Lahore was titled the ‘Anarkullie Billiards Club’ set up in 1863 in the Anarkali Cantonment. There is some confusion as to its first location, but what we do know is that the ‘Roberts Club’ opposite the French-built Civil Secretariat is where the first billiard table was installed. This inconspicuous building is where the first ‘Thug Office’ was also located. Today it remains a police intelligence outfit.

The title Roberts Club of 1863 is derived from the name of the club’s founder, A. Roberts, CB, who was assisted by D.F. Mcleod, T.H. Thornton, R.H. Davies and 10 other officers, and started functioning on the 1st of January, 1863. The names have a very Welsh ring to them. The mystery that remains to be solved is whether this ‘Anarkullie Billiards Club’ converted into one with more activities and was renamed the Punjab Club. What we do know from manuscripts is that this ‘club’ of mainly intelligence officers held dance sessions in the Gol Bagh after they got a pavilion built there for the army band to perform and colourful tents served refreshment. Indians referred to these sessions as the ‘Paggal Nach’. At the gate was the sign which stated ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’.

This was the first sign of racial segregation between the locals and the outsiders, which was to remain till 1949, and in a way is ingrained in the minds of our rich who look down upon people who speak the ancient local language. From its location at Roberts Club, there is evidence of it shifting somewhere near the Lahore Museum. This could well be because John Lockwood Kipling, the founder of the Mayo School of Arts (now NCA) was an active member.

It then took on greater importance when its location was shifted to a huge building where today stands the Alhamra Complex. It then moved to where today is the Administrative Staff College on The Mall. Come Pakistan and this building was taken over and the exclusive club was provided a huge house in GOR 1, where it still operates as a club for the rich and influential.

But by then the second gymkhana of the sub-continent, namely the Lahore Gymkhana Club, had come up in 1878. The first in the sub-continent was in Bombay in 1875. Its original name was The Lahore and Mian Mir Institute and was closely linked to the need for exclusive facilities for the British-dominated civil and judicial services as well as railway officers. Very soon the railway officers set up their own club. It was then that the exclusive civil and judicial officers, almost all British, got built the palatial building known as Lawrence Hall opposite the Governor’s House in the Lawrence Gardens. Very soon a similar Montgomery Hall was constructed. This was where the club was housed.

So was set into motion an exclusive club for the residents of the Lahore Cantonment and the nearby estates. Membership was very restricted and the fee, thanks the bureaucrats for that, was nominal. Soon the exclusive-minded members thought that the name Mian Mir institute was not ‘exclusive’ enough, and so on the 23rd of March, 1906, it was renamed the Lahore Gymkhana Club. The golf links were located on the eastern side of the Lahore Canal between The Mall and the old Christian Graveyard, with the railway lines running to the east next to the Lahore Cantonment.

In 1972 the Punjab government, inspired by the egalitarian spirit of ZA Bhutto, took over the Montgomery and Lawrence Halls and converted them into a library. Why this was done is also a mystery. The 117-acre golf course then housed its club building, and that is where it remains located with considerable expansion in buildings and membership. At the writing of this report the membership numbers near 10,000, with the current Chief Minister of the Punjab being made a member free of charge as newspaper reports indicate.

But then the influence of railway officials remained paramount. They belong to what was then considered the premier service. They built an exclusive Officers Club inside their Mayo Gardens. As the original inhabitants of this exclusive housing estate were British, they set aside a large area for themselves on the lines of the Lahore Gymkhana. It was in its day considered a notch above all other clubs. With the decline of the rail service its importance also declined. One hope it returns on its rails.

But then most of the operating staff of the railways were mostly Anglo-Indians, and for them in 1913 a beautiful club by the name of Burt Institute was set up in the Mughalpura area. This became famous for its wooden dance floor and its liberal supply of liquid refreshments. It was the place to be seen. Sadly this beautiful club declined and was closed. An attempt is now being made to resurrect it. One hopes this derailed club is restored.

With time as the Punjab Club and the Lahore Gymkhana were seen as ‘upper class’ watering holes. The PPP ‘ban’ on alcoholic drinks merely converted them into eating places. The billiard and cards function continues with flair, which is a positive pastime given that ‘eating out’ is the sole intellectual sporting pastime left in Lahore.

But by then the defence forces had grown in relative importance in national life. From their barracks they set off on property development and as is their wont they needed clubs to pass their free time and interface with civilians of means. So in Lahore we saw the emergence of Defence Clubs. They have all the facilities of any other posh club, which is a positive contribution for the residents of these sprawling housing estates.

It is surely a positive attribute of this unique city in that their focus remains of meeting the best among its citizens. What is disturbing is the decline of libraries, book stores and tea shops dedicated to the proposition that literary and social discussion flows undisturbed. The hidden fear of the State plays no small a role in this development. But then all our educated humans are not endowed or rich enough to enjoy the pleasure of the many clubs of Lahore. Such is the blind influence of power.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2020