61 / 64
introduced around the same time
and of course it too made its way
into the lounge/bar! Games took
on a new meaning on Wednesdays, with several golfers
taking to the course (the airstrip for the Cessna having
doubled up as a nine hole course!), the lone tennis court
being packed from around 4.30 pm till close to 10 pm
and the rest of the non-playing members congregating
around the pool table for a shot, including the ladies and
yours truly! That left the children, who made every
available open space their playing field, with ayahs in tow.
The inclusion of the ACs led to a rise in card games and
so the lounge/bar was the most packed area, with players
as well as non-players staking their own space!
In February 2008 the club hosted its first ever Flower
Show, it being Mr Rajeev Takru’s brainchild, who felt that
the club now had a considerable membership to hold this
event. Except in 2011 when the Dooars saw some major
political upheavals, the Flower Show has now become the
most important fixture in the club's calendar.
With an increase in members, the need for space was also
felt and so in 2013 a call was taken to renovate the club
house. It took a whole year for the renovations to be
completed and so the Wednesday teas were shifted to the
Hangar - yet another story for another day! The newly
renovated club opened its doors in February 2014, just in
time for the Flower Show.The Club now boasts a newly
done up nineteenth hole - the bar - and a billiards room.
After the bar, generally hogged by the ‘burhas’, the
billiards room qualifies as the room of choice for all the
young planters. From the days of one cozy lounge (read
packed) the members today are distributed all over the
club premises.
A new table tennis table has also been acquired to give
members more choice of games, but soccer in the summers
and tennis-ball cricket in the cold weather remain a
religion not to be messed with. Of course there is no
stronger love than that of the loyal golfer who refuses to
stray to younger and greener sporting pastures!
Apart from all these sporting activities, Diwali and
Christmas are celebrated with much fervour and gaiety.
The monthly club supper is a celebration in itself as each
estate puts up a feast fit for kings. Wednesdays remain
the most important mid-week link for all the members
to play, swap stories, talk shop, and make memories,
methinks. The ladies too are kept busy, doing what they
do best – catering! Despite the distance, Jainti too makes
up the numbers on most Wednesdays, doing their bit to
stay in touch.
True to the spirit, this club has remained an integral part
of the Planter's existence. Surely every member, past and
present, has at least one story to share about the 'good
ole days' at the club.
Cheers to CCDS club...many more yarns are in the
making, biding their time for spinning.
July 2016
61