On an even KEEL

The Bengal Rowing Club, or The Marwari Rowing Club, as it was once known, celebrated its 90th Foundation Day this year. In its wake, Raghu Mohta, the outgoing president of the club, takes MARWAR through its 90year journey, as he hands over charge to incoming president Prashant Kanoria.

- Joseph Rozario

Nowhere in the country has the club culture been as vibrant and predominant as in Kolkata. If the British had their own oases to socialise, entertain and recreate the back-home feel in the city, the Marwaris of Calcutta (now Kolkata) were not far behind to create one of their own: The Marwari Rowing Club. Now known as The Bengal Rowing Club, it has come a long way from its inceptive years to earn name and fame as a leisurely retreat for games, recreational facilities, food and cultural activities. And in that it stands out as a proud icon of Marwari heritage that has withstood the tests of time.

The inception

Located on the banks of the Rabindra Sarobar lake in Calcutta, the Marwari Rowing Club was founded on August 25, 1929. Taking us back to those years, Raghu Mohta, who has served as the club’s president until recently, says, “The Bengal Rowing Club was founded by Late Sir Badri Das Goenka, Late Brij Mohan Birla and a few other prominent Marwaris. Calcutta Lake Club was the only club on the lakes at that time, and had only expats as members. So the progressive men of the community came together to form a club and thus was born The Marwari Rowing Club.” Besides offering rowing as a pastime, the club also acted as a meeting ground for the city’s close-knit Marwari community, which, caught in the cultural crosswinds of the ‘20s, felt the need to connect with each other, socialise and exchange ideas, in order to preserve the community’s cultural identity and traditional lifestyle. However, notwithstanding its Marwari ethos, it allowed people from most other conservative communities, and in that not only did it demonstrate broad-mindedness but also demolished the stereotype of Marwaris being a stuffy, money-minded and business-obsessed community.