NOT MANY in Chennai are aware of the inconspicuous building that has been in existence for 100 years on the Luz Church Road. The Mylapore Club, located behind an unpretentious gate adjacent to the Amrutanjan building, celebrated its centenary on March 30. The club retains the old-world charm while housing modern facilities.

A new building with a gym was inaugurated by Mr. M.A.M.Ramaswamy, president of the club. Ramanathan Krishnan and S.Venkataraghavan were honoured on the occasion for their contribution to sports.

Mylapore was not always about 'serious' people -- not even in the last century. Many of them did pursue serious careers though. The concept of socialising, a direct impact of the British rule, saw the mushrooming of clubs in various parts of the city. But the 'privilege' was confined to colonial masters.

It was in these circumstances that V.Krishnaswamy Iyer, a leading personality of Mylai, thought of starting a club.

The objective was twofold -- to awaken the public spirit among the people of Madras and to evoke a sense of camaraderie. Thus was born the Mylapore Club on the land leased out by Kapaleeswarar temple on February 22, 1904 as a "Proprietors Club." Headed by Krishnaswamy Iyer, the club included stalwarts such as P.S.Sivaswamy Aiyar, V.Krishnaswami Aiyar, T.R.Ramachandra Aiyar, V.C.Desikachariar, P.R.Sundara Aiyar, S.Gopalswami Aiyangar, R.Subramania Aiyar, V.C.Seshachariar, C.R.Thiruvenkatachariar, K.Srinivasa Aiyangar, A.S.Balasubramania Aiyar, T.V.Gopalaswami Mudaliar and C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar.

For many of the founders, the spirit of self-sacrifice was innate and their motto was: "To earn is to give." They set aside a large portion of their earnings for social causes, says N.C.Sarabeswaran, a committee member of the club. Situated amidst the din and bustle of Luz, it was much admired for its role in shaping and promoting social values and sports consciousness among the youth.

According to the rules framed by the proprietor gentlemen, first-class members had to pay a monthly subscription of Rs.2, and second-class members Re. 1. An entrance fee of Rs. 10 and Rs. 5 was charged for the two classes of members.

Life membership subscription for the first-class and second-class members was Rs. 200 and Rs. 100. Non-resident members paid an annual subscription of Rs. 12.

V.M.Ramalingam, a committee member, says the club was well known for many things -- chewing paan and betel nut, great sense of humour ("even yesteryear comedians came to the club for having a hearty laugh") and high quality tiffin being a few. "The canteen facility was unique. Whatever was made was excellent and members used to come just for refreshment, if not anything else," claims Mr. Ramalingam.

"The Sunday specials, badam halwa and masal dosai were, in particular, runaway hits." Mr.Sarabeswaran says such was the quality control that he personally oversaw the procurement of high-quality almonds (badam) from Linghi Chetty Street, Georgetown, on Saturdays.

Among the objectives of the club was to "give unflinching support to sports." It promoted tennis, bridge, billiards and snooker. The Mylapore Club is best known for its card room and tennis courts. One of the giants of Madras tennis, T.B.Balagopal, played at the club's courts for several decades, well into his eighties. In fact, he used to play the game barefoot in a dhoti recalls Mr.Sarabeswaran. Many famed Mylaporeans have played tennis, rummy or bridge here.

The club also once invited Wilson Jones, world champion, to play billiards. "We recently conducted the centenary billiard tournament of the State rank players of south India in memory of late G.Narasimhan who was an ardent lover of billiards," says Mr.Sarabeswaran. The club has produced many stalwarts in the game of bridge. N.warts in the game of bridge. N.Ramaratnam, Editor, Kalaimaga, and K.C.Ramaratnam, Editor of Macmillan, used to play the game under a thatched roof in the club.

Some of the entertainment at the club in the early years included meetings of The Literary Club and veena recitals. Gopalakrishna Gokhale was among the distinguished visitors who spoke at the club.

Senior members of the club become nostalgic as they recall the services rendered by luminaries such as Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer, Sivagnana Mudaliar and Rao Bahadur Appu Shastri.

N.D.Chandramouli, who has been a member for 50 years, recalls that membership of the club was not denied to anyone.

Luminaries such as Kannadasan and Sakthi Krishnaswamy were members of the club. The card sessions under the banyan tree were unforgettable, he says. "A maistry used to shoo away the crows while the members played."

K.Vaitheeswaran, who has been around since 1938, says he learnt tennis at the club. When he began, everyone avoided playing with him. It was T.B.Balagopal who encouraged him and taught him the nuances of the game. He learnt the tricks so well that he even defeated V.D.Ramasamy (who used two rackets at a time), a stalwart, he remembers with pride.

"Now we are becoming a sports promotion body. We are giving accent to it because traditionally the club was for recreation and leisure. Now we are in the transition stage. Fitness and health are the watchword among youngsters. We have six disciplines where we are planning to give ground-level coaching, out of which four are already in operation -- cricket, tennis, shuttle, gym, billiards and snooker," says Mr.Ramalingam.

The club plans to start an academy for table tennis and chessand rope in top-ranking professionals to coach children in the 6-13 age group. "You have the urge, we have the facility. Together we make the house of champions," proclaims the Mylapore Club.