It is club election season again, with most Mumbai clubs ready to finish off their Annual General Meetings (AGM) by the weekend. Clubs are an increasingly visible feature of the social landscape in the city. Most south Mumbai club memberships hover around Rs 40 lakh, and some clubs may quote even more of a laughable figure.

Elections to the club committee are being fought with increasing ferocity, one indicator of just how coveted these kursis have become. Today, candidates and groups release advertisements in newspapers and put up hoardings in the city, a practice that was unheard of a couple of years ago. Some clubs have a waiting period of as long as 10 years or more.