The 760-member Ripon Club located in the commercial heart of South Bombay showed a profit of Rs 49,624 (USD 594) for the financial year April 2022 to March 2023. The profit however was less than half of the previous year’s Rs 1,07,258 (USD 1,284). Nineteen new members were added, 12 as life members, three resident and four lady associate members, five members resigned and seven died, notes the chairman of the nine-member managing committee and trustee, Xerxes Dastur. The Club bars women from full membership and states on page three of their 137th Annual Report under Explanatory Note to the Agenda, "no lady member is entitled to vote or attend the meeting.” There are 102 women who are members of the misogynistic institution located on the third and fourth floor of the N. M. Wadia Building on Mahatma Gandhi Road.
Ripon Club
Photo: Jasmine D. Driver
The Club’s total assets are Rs 2.22 crores (USD 263,511) of which Rs 1.62 crores (USD 194,040) are shown as "investments.” The Club’s total income for the 12 months was Rs 32.18 lakhs (USD 38,544) of which subscription totaled Rs 22.03 lakhs (USD 26,387) and interest was Rs 7.92 lakhs (USD 9,486). Catering is outsourced to Tehmtan Dumasia of K. Caterers who pays the Club a percentage of the income derived. The amount received for "Commissariat Commission and Service Charge” in the accounts audited by F. K. Mody & Co is shown as Rs 2.85 lakhs (USD 3,413).
The landlords, the N. M. Wadia Charities, have filed a suit for eviction against the Club. The case is pending while consent terms between the two parties are finalized. The compromise arrived at was to give the fourth floor premises on a leave and license basis to a third party and share the revenue received in a proportionate manner between the Club and the landlord. But Club member, lawyer Khushroo Zaiwala filed a legal objection to the scheme as a result of which the finalization of the proposal is said to be in abeyance. Open Monday through Saturdays, the Club sees a substantial attendance on Wednesdays for lunch when dhansak is served. Aside from some members lunching on Mondays and Fridays the Club is usually deserted on other days.