With fast-paced developments across Mumbai’s food-scape — where croissants and bibimbap are taking over menus, chilli cheese toast and caramel custard from colonial-era clubs remain classic favourites. How do they match up to diverse culinary tastes that have swept the city? Sneha Mehta from Play Fare, an independent research project that investigates the history and tradition of colonial-era clubs, credits the relevance and appeal of these dishes to being time-tested offerings. They pack in a sense of familiarity and strong emotions that are associated with food. You can join founders Mehta and Mallika Chandra today in the second edition of Guest Special, where they will unpack the identity and history of colonial-era clubs through food.

“The fact that [these dishes] haven’t changed shows their strength,” Mehta notes. This makes colonial clubs like Breach Candy Club, Bombay Gymkhana, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Cricket Club of India and Willingdon Sports Club good research areas. Vritika Lalwani, founder, Praxis, an independent creative studio that will facilitate the event, shares, “We’ll also touch upon decoding club culture from a visual lens. Clubs have a specific look and feel that shape their identity.” This includes the menus, furniture, and notices that might still be printed as Word documents. Shamika Desai, programming partner, Praxis explains that from this, one can look into the social cues they impart and the impact they bear on people’s behaviour within club spaces. But that’s not to say that these spaces are still frozen in the 19th century when Mumbai’s first club, The Byculla Club, opened its doors in 1833.