Microsoft, Infosys and Satyam Computers sign up for an upcoming country club in Mumbai

Bella Jaisinghani

India's premier chain of clubs, Hyderabad-based Country Club (India) Ltd (CCIL), has begun work on its latest venture in Mumbai. The club is expected to commence operations around September 2002.

It is currently luring Mumbaiites by offering a pre-inaugural discount of 50 per cent on all memberships. The lifetime membership is available for Rs 2 lakh, a 25-year-membership for Rs 1.25 lakh and a 15-year-membership for Rs 1 lakh. The company has 15 clubs in India and is affiliated to 145 others worldwide. It holds the distinction of being the largest chain of clubs in this country with 50,000 members. Corporate bigwigs Microsoft, Infosys and Satyam Computers have signed up as have the topmost names in the South film industry.

Chairman and managing director of CCIL, Y Rajeev Reddy, is in Mumbai to oversee the operations at his newest location. He explains why the journey to Mumbai took so long. “Well, since the company is based in Hyderabad, we launched off there. Thereafter, it was only logical to tap the rest of the Southern region. So, we established a presence in Bangalore and Chennai where our clubs turned out to be a major success. Next was Chandigarh—and I’d like to point out that we went there upon the invitation of the state government,” he says with a note of pride. Well, 15 clubs later, it is Mumbai’s turn at last!

Mr Reddy maintains that his team had been scouting for a proper location in this city for some time, and has now found a suitable site in the western suburb of Andheri. “Work has begun on the first phase of the project which will be complete by May 2002. The centre will be fully operational by September next year.” The new Country Club is located near Lokhandwala Complex, in an area where leading television software companies are situated, and where most of Mumbai’s film and television fraternity lives.

The club will be equipped with a temperature-controlled swimming pool, 24-hour coffee shop, restaurants that serve a variety of cuisines, and facilities for tennis, badminton, squash and table tennis. Bowling alleys, card tables and billiards will be provided, as will banquet halls, a library, a discotheque and artificial rock climbing facilities. What Country Club is really proud of is the “personalised health spa” named Tassha. It is being touted as South Asia’s best-designed health and fitness centre.

But what will get a passerby’s attention will be the phenomenal architecture of the new building. Mumbai’s Country Club is being modelled along Mr Reddy’s maiden club in Hyderabad, which is housed in the palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad. “It’s an onerous task because we intend to make a faithful replica! We had acquired the palace of the Nizam and restored it to host Country Club,” he says.

Mr Reddy ventured into real estate at the age of 21, on borrowed capital of Rs 4 lakh. His other architectural attractions include the famous boutique hotel, Amrutha Castle, opposite the Hyderabad state secretariat. “I make sure the exteriors of my buildings are impressive.
I wanted something unique for this one as well, and I hired the topmost architect in India to draft designs for it. But I wasn’t satisfied! So I engaged a team of international architects and went scouting for the ideal design. It was the Royal Castle of Schloss Neuschwanstein in Southern Bavaria that appealed to me most! And that is the design we used for Amrutha Castle!” says its enthusiastic promoter.

Country Club has roped in Yukta Mookhey as its brand ambassador, and the regular high-profile events it hosts have enhanced its image. So Mr Reddy has reason to believe his designs on Mumbai will work.