Ladies at Ripon

The winds of change are buffeting one of the last Parsi/Irani male bastions. The 122nd Annual Report of The Ripon Club in Bombay has listed on its agenda for the annual general meeting (AGM) that was to be held on March 26, 2009 an item "to accept lady members as full-fledged members of the Club.”

At present unmarried women or wo­men married to non-Parsis can join as lady members or associate members but are not "entitled to contest any office and no such member is entitled to vote or attend the (AGM) meeting,” noted the "Explanatory note to the agenda.” At present women married to Parsis cannot become members. Their husbands have to become members instead. Whether this anomaly will change or not has to be clarified. The belated move to accept lady members may marginally augment the Club’s limited revenue.

The agenda also contains a proposal to "increase entrance fees (and) subscription fees.” For life members the fees may increase from Rs 33,000 to Rs 50,000 and for regular members from Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000. The annual subscription is suggested at Rs 2,700 for regular members and Rs 3,000 for associate members.

With regard to a write-up dated January 21, 2009 on the Club’s notice board stating the managing committee "has received notice from our landlords M/s N. M. Wadia Charities regarding eviction of premises,” the agenda has an item "on the ongoing correspondence with the Wadia trust.”

Ripon Club: no longer an exclusively male preserve

The notice to members had stated "the managing committee members along with the trustees have already discussed the matter at length and all steps to protect the premises and the interest of the Club are under way. However members will be kept informed from time to time,” wrote the Club’s secretary Rumi Tatary.

At the last AGM members had shot down a proposal to hand over a large portion of the fourth floor to the law firm of M/s Wadia Gandhy and Company for over 6.75 crore rupees. Fifty percent of the amount was to be given to the landlord for transferring tenancy rights. The balance amount was to be used to pay a higher rent to the Wadia charities and for repairs to the third and fourth floors.

As social clubs are allegedly not protected by the Bombay Rent Act, their position in law is tenuous. A higher rent of Rs 25,000 a month versus the current amount of Rs 4,412 plus service charges of Rs 2,500 may have soothed matters for the time.

The Club incurred "a deficit of Rs 21,555... as against a deficit of Rs 75,823 during the previous year.” The total investments of the Club are Rs 51,70,000, the same as in the previous year.

During the year, 17 "life members enrolled, two resident members, seven associate lady members (women married to non-Parsis) and two lady members. Four members died while five resigned.” The total membership of the Club is 653, according to the report.