Serving With A Smile

For more than five decades, the Indian expat community has enjoyed a touch of home in the UAE

For more than five decades, ever since it was established in 1964, India Club has continued its rich tradition of providing a touch of home to the sizeable Indian expat community in the UAE. In the process, the organisation continues to bring together like-minded individuals who have been generating revenue and creating opportunities for business over the course of many successful years.

The current location on which the Club stands was gifted the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, father of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in 1974. Today, the organisation continues to thrive and exist as a testament to the strong bonds of brotherhood between the UAE and India. In these years, the organisation has been responsible for sourcing numerous networking and business opportunities.

India Club is a non-profit sharing organisation, that consists of 14 founding members and 11 Board of Directors. In addition, the hierarchy comprises of a Chairman’s panel, which is made up of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the CEO. The membership of the organisation is made up of more than 8,000 and it continues to grow everyday as the Club offers a number of activities. These include activities such as sports, entertainment, leisure facilities and a wide array of delicious culinary offerings. The Club also has a members Networking Centre (MNC) that has been created to provide networking opportunities for its members. In order to facilitate these meetings, the MNC also organises a number of seminars/ luncheons, which are attended by eminent personalities. In addition to these, club members can also enjoy top class amenities in the sports categories, social amenities, entertainment, recreation and business promotion. With some of the most advanced and latest state-of-the-art sports and health facilities comparable to the best in the world, India Club is the largest social club of the Indian diaspora. Throughout the year, the club hosts a number of major and minor sports tournaments which are organised under the supervision of certified coaches and instructors. Most of the major as well as minor Indian festivals are also celebrated with full pomp and fervor so that the members can relive some of the nostalgic memories from back home. Another feather in its cap is the fact that the Club has become the first organisation anywhere to be awarded ISO 9001:2000 accreditation by Lloyds’ register for quality assurance. Furthermore, the Club was awarded the DQAP in the tourism sector for the year 2008. The Club is also a member of the Dubai Services Excellence Scheme.

Recently, Siddharth Balachandran, Chairman, India Club was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Government of India. The award was presented by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu on January 10 at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held at Indore.

Through the decades, the club has hosted numerous events that have brought the community together. Some of these include hosting famous Indian singer Sonu Nigam on the occasion of Diwali in 2021, which drew a crowd of more than 3,000. Last year, a concert by the legendary Grammy Award winner and Padma Bhushan recipient Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt was held in July, which was very popular. Another successful event was an MNC luncheon with Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, which was attended by around 350 people as they participated and interacted with the famous celebrity couple. Sunil Grover, from the Kapil Sharma Show, also attended the Annual Gala Dinner at the Club where close to a 1,000 people attended. These events are a testimony to India Club’s hard work and dedication in making sure that its members are satisfied.

— ali@khaleejtimes.com

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