Calcutta Club

Calcutta Club (Bengali: কলকাতা ক্লাব) is an elite gentlemen's club located on Lower Circular Road in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. It was established in 1907 and the first president of the club was the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, Sir Nripendra Narayan. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII of Great Britain, was among the first royal guests to visit the club when he was invited to a lunch on 28 December 1921. First prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the club in 1961.[1] The club has always maintained distinguished members from every community - from Maharaja of Coochbehar to Maharaja of Burdwan, Maharaja of Darbhanga, Nawab Sir KGM Faroqui of Ratanpur to Bhupendra Nath Bose, President of the Indian National Congress[2] to Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen.[3] Internationally acclaimed artists like Gaganendranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore were regular visitors to the club, as was Oscar award-winning legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray, longest-serving chief minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu.[4] In 2007, 11th president of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam visited the club to launch the centenary scholarship fund.[1] Other notable visitors to the club include prominent Indian artists and celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri.[5][6] Today Calcutta Club stands as an iconic landmark in Kolkata and represents the elite Bengal with rich history and culture,[2] and also referred as "The Grand Duke of all Clubs".[7]

  1. ^ a b "Calcutta Club | Welcome". Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Calcutta Club was formed by Indians to challenge the 'European' Bengal Club". Get Bengal. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Rediff On The NeT Business News". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Basu listened, laughed and mildly flirted". DNA India. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Big B rekindles yaarana". The Times of India. 12 March 2007. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. ^ Jaya Bachchan at Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet 2015 -- Part 1, archived from the original on 24 April 2023, retrieved 21 July 2023
  7. ^ "12 Clubs to be a part of in Kolkata". Window On Travel. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2023.