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The restaurant does not conform to contemporary trends of elegance or sophistication, but therein lies its magic. If ever a restaurant were a cult classic, the India Club would certainly fit the bill.
London: An Indian restaurant in London that played an important role in fostering post-colonial relations between India and the UK is shutting its door forever. The India Club, founded on The Strand in 1951, will host its final service on September 17, after losing a protracted battle against its closure. The historic meeting venue and eatery, which had won its battle to prevent the building in the heart of London’s Strand from being pulled down a few years ago, was served a notice by the landlords to make way for a more modernised hotel.
Proprietors Yadgar Marker and his daughter Phiroza who have been running the historic institution for the past 26 years launched a “Save India Club” appeal a few years back but have now announced its impending closure. “It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the closure of the India Club, with our last day open to the public on September 17,” they said.
For anyone who has not been there, it is difficult to describe the charms of the India Club; to say it is the closest thing you will find in London to dining in Calcutta. The restaurant does not conform to contemporary trends of elegance or sophistication, but therein lies its magic. If ever a restaurant were a cult classic, the India Club would certainly fit the bill.
It was founded in 1951 by Krishna Menon, the Southern Indian politician and India’s first High Commissioner, as a way of furthering Indo-British relations in the wake of the country gaining independence, and as a meeting place for various Indian organisations in London.
Its founder members included Lady Mountbatten, the wife of the last viceroy, and Jawaharl Nehru, independent India’s first prime minister.
The club moved to its present premises at 143-145 Strand some time in the late 1950s or early 1960s – nobody seems to be sure.
Situated directly opposite the Indian High Commission and the BBC’s studios at Bush House, over the years the restaurant attracted a cosmopolitan clientele of employees from India House, journalists, lawyers from the nearby Royal Courts of Justice and lecturers and students from King’s College, next door.
The India Club, which for decades has served classic dishes such as butter chicken, masala dosas, and chilli paneer, has long played a vital role in serving the Asian community in London.
It was recognised as a welcoming space in London, where Indian visitors could “seek advice, connect culturally, and speak their native language.”
The Indian Journalist Association, the Indian Workers Association, and the Indian Socialist Group were three organisations that once met there.
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