In the massive new India of aspirational professionals, there is a requirement for the collaborative environment of a club where people can bond over. (Representational Image)
As the sun sets behind the Horizon Centre on the Golf Course Road in Gurgaon, the central atrium is buzzing with activity. After dusk, professionals from the business district all around congregate in this hub, full of popular restaurants like Whisky Samba and Artusi. Most recently, the trendiest commercial space in Gurgaon has a new, urban refuge — a private, members-only club called The Quorum.
In these egalitarian times, anything that goes by ‘members only’ carries a cringeworthy connotation. It sounds either amusingly retrograde or conjures up images of times gone by, when British-Raj era institutions insisted on jackets for dinner and had stuffy rooms full of old people playing bridge. Those country clubs, decrepit but charming, still thrive in Delhi even though they’re packed with irate members who protest if the price of tea is raised from rupees seven to nine. These sports-dominated spaces (besides not being available) have a jaded air, while at the five-star hotels’ discreet power clubs, like The Chambers and The Belvedere, the average age hovers around 60.
In the massive new India of aspirational professionals, there is a requirement for the collaborative environment of a club where people can bond over -— if not golf — art, music and philosophy. That’s precisely the gap The Quorum is aiming to fill. Membership starts at Rs 75,000 a year, besides a one- time joining fee.
Once you enter Quorum, it opens up into a huge gallery space, where paintings by artists such as SH Raza and Ram Kumar adorn the walls. As Vivek Narain, 42, founder, The Quorum, gives me a tour, he explains the works are on loan from the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, as part of their philanthropic initiative to build a museum visiting culture in India. Narain, a dapper ex-banker, decided to enter the hospitality business after working on a large private equity transaction for a hotel chain in 2006. “This is not about just being a great restaurant or bar,” Narain is at pains to clarify, as we walk through the 22,000 sq ft space, quietly opulent, with a distinct Scandinavian aesthetic. “Our thrust is more on creating a sophisticated environment for work and diverse entertainment,” he adds. The Food & Beverage for the restaurant, Coalesce, is handled by Narain’s wife, Sonya Jehan, who hails from a family with a long lineage of chefs: her mother has been running a French restaurant in Karachi for over two decades. There is a well stocked bar, a gift store, a space for performing arts and a gym, handled by trainer Sumaya Dalmia.
It’s interesting to note, the private club culture still flourishes in cities like London and Singapore, where they first came up centuries ago as spaces where upper class men could go to network. Most have rebranded themselves as venues of moderation and restraint. Narain clearly isn’t looking for the club to be a loud and brash haven for youngsters flush with funds: the space has a decidedly work-oriented air; solitary cabins, conference rooms and a private library abound. The plan originally was to launch in Delhi but after Narain saw the appalling commercial real estate available, in areas like Bhikaji Cama Place, he dropped the idea. “I realised this can only work in Gurgaon, where there is an eclectic mix of people, unlike Delhi where there is no cross pollination,” he says. Narain flinches at the mention of the term ‘gentlemen’s club’ but he has a gentleman’s disdain for politics and religion, areas he has vowed to keep away from the club’s social calendar. This week filmmaker Quaser Mukerjee will meet members after a screening of his film, Garbage, and last week journalist Karan Thapar held a book reading. Events include painting workshops, clay modelling classes, and stand-up performances. It is a kid free zone, except on Sundays.
It’s early days yet but creating and keeping afloat a venue on the scale of The Quorum, is not without its challenges. Condominium complexes like The Magnolias and Arelias, right opposite, have their own clubs. However, The Quorum has tied up reciprocal relationships with 40 clubs around the world, that comes with many privileges. “We have a special rate for an under-35 membership because we want this space to be powered by young people,” says Narain. So far, over 300 people have joined. The image of the leisurely, club-going gentleman from a old-boys network is about to change, dramatically.
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