00:00 THOMPSON: Sunrise at the Gateway of India.
The British built this triumphal arch in the days when Bombay was part of the glory and splendour of the British Raj.
But these days, Bombay has become Mumbai, and its many years since the last of Britains ships sailed home.
THOMPSON: 57 years after independence, the sun has pretty much set on the British Empire, but even now in an India with one of the worlds fastest growing economies and a middle class larger than the entire population of the United States, there is in this famous old port city one last small island of resistance to the retreat of the Raj
00:38 THOMPSON: Many a weary seafarer has sought sanctuary here, but its only members and their invited guests who are welcome inside the halls of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.
01:04 Interior club
GEOFF: What a lovely old club this is.
COLONEL TULLET: Not Bad is it?
COLONEL TULLET: Been around for a few years.
GEOFF: How long?
TULLET: 1846 the club was formed, but weve only been here since 1898 in this particular building.
01:32 THOMPSON: Former British Army Lt Colonel Graham Tullet is the clubs current President, and Hiro Shroff has been a member for 35 years.
01:47 GEOFF: Why is this club still here?
HIRO: Because its got old charm, grace, tradition, and we feel its just nice, the committee has deliberately kept it the way it was they wanted to keep that, they didnt want to do it in a different way.
01:56 THOMPSON: Lunching at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club is like stepping into the past. The traditions of the empire have been kept alive, but sometimes not without a fight. Steak and kidney pie was put back on the menu when Colonel Tullet insisted.
02:10 TULLET: We do try to have one known thing every day of the week, yes to encourage people to say theyll have the steak and kidney pie.
THOMPSON: And why steak and kidney Pie?
TULLET: Well it was rather popular
HIRO: at one stage...it was one of my favourites.
TULLET (laughter) I like it.
02:43 HIRO: Friday night we had fish and chips and the fish and chips was served in the London Times.
02:52 THOMPSON: But there is one very important tradition of the club that has changed.
Before 1957 no Indians were members. Now out of a membership of 1200, only four of them are British.
03:46 sailing RACE ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen you have now witnessed this lovely race which is being clearly contested
03:15 Promoting sailing among Bombays youth is the clubs main mission.
03:29 RACE ANNOUNCER: Theyve just rounded two points and theyre approaching the third buoy
03:40 THOMPSON: But its back in the bar that much of the history has been made.
As a young officer, Field Marshal Montgomery was expelled for dancing on the tables.
03:46 GEOFF: So the saviour of British fortunes in Africa was kicked out of ?
TULLET: the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. Yes. That was when he was a very not irresponsible, but gay young subaltern, gay in the old fashioned sense of the word.
04:02
Club exterior As one of the oldest clubs in the world, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club is a treasure trove of sailing artefacts.
04:18 TULLET: The main task Ive always had in the club was to look after the artefacts and
04:34 Tullet now Im probably one of the artefacts myself, I think.
04:39 THOMPSON: Why do you think its important to keep up the traditions of a club like this?
04:48
Tullet TULLET: Well if it aint broke theres no need to fix it really is there, and it seems to be working perfectly well.
04:54
Colonel Tullet currently calls the club his home.
05:16
Tullets room
TULLET: This is my humble abode, or what used to be considered somewhat humble.
GEOFF: It doesnt look too humble.
TULLET: Well its actually one of the smaller rooms in the club. This is undoubtedly I think the best view in India.
05:21
GT: This is the gateway of India.
Gateway Tullet: This is the gateway of India. It was built in 1930, but the original building was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George the fifth. 05:38
b&w stills The Royal Bombay Yacht Clubs whites only policy may be a thing of the past, but modern India has retained its very own species of inequality.
Gulshan Rai is the clubs top sailor.
(sound up)
He was awarded Indias most prestigious sports prize for sailing from Britain to India as well as his countrys equivalent of a knighthood for a round the world voyage.
But someone else actually did the sailing.
05:46
Tindal on sailing boat
Gulshan Rai
GULSHAN: They are known as Tindals T I N D A L . Tindal is an English word for skipper the only unfortunate thing is that they are illiterate but they are very good. They have a resilience which I do not have and he is my arms and legs because I dont know how to swim, so when there is heavy weather or there is a change of sails, he is the one who goes on the open deck and does all the deck work, and I have never stepped out of Bombay harbour without a Tindal.
GEOFF: So are you the real sailor or are they?
GULSHAN: Well, I would say Im the real navigator; hes the real sailor.
06:52
THOMPSON: But the low-class Tindals might have to wait another few hundred years before theyre allowed to be members of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. 06:55
Reporter: Geoff Thompson
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Editor: Simon Brynjolffssen
Research: Juhee Ahmed
The British built this triumphal arch in the days when Bombay was part of the glory and splendour of the British Raj.
But these days, Bombay has become Mumbai, and its many years since the last of Britains ships sailed home.
THOMPSON: 57 years after independence, the sun has pretty much set on the British Empire, but even now in an India with one of the worlds fastest growing economies and a middle class larger than the entire population of the United States, there is in this famous old port city one last small island of resistance to the retreat of the Raj
00:38 THOMPSON: Many a weary seafarer has sought sanctuary here, but its only members and their invited guests who are welcome inside the halls of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.
01:04 Interior club
GEOFF: What a lovely old club this is.
COLONEL TULLET: Not Bad is it?
COLONEL TULLET: Been around for a few years.
GEOFF: How long?
TULLET: 1846 the club was formed, but weve only been here since 1898 in this particular building.
01:32 THOMPSON: Former British Army Lt Colonel Graham Tullet is the clubs current President, and Hiro Shroff has been a member for 35 years.
01:47 GEOFF: Why is this club still here?
HIRO: Because its got old charm, grace, tradition, and we feel its just nice, the committee has deliberately kept it the way it was they wanted to keep that, they didnt want to do it in a different way.
01:56 THOMPSON: Lunching at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club is like stepping into the past. The traditions of the empire have been kept alive, but sometimes not without a fight. Steak and kidney pie was put back on the menu when Colonel Tullet insisted.
02:10 TULLET: We do try to have one known thing every day of the week, yes to encourage people to say theyll have the steak and kidney pie.
THOMPSON: And why steak and kidney Pie?
TULLET: Well it was rather popular
HIRO: at one stage...it was one of my favourites.
TULLET (laughter) I like it.
02:43 HIRO: Friday night we had fish and chips and the fish and chips was served in the London Times.
02:52 THOMPSON: But there is one very important tradition of the club that has changed.
Before 1957 no Indians were members. Now out of a membership of 1200, only four of them are British.
03:46 sailing RACE ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen you have now witnessed this lovely race which is being clearly contested
03:15 Promoting sailing among Bombays youth is the clubs main mission.
03:29 RACE ANNOUNCER: Theyve just rounded two points and theyre approaching the third buoy
03:40 THOMPSON: But its back in the bar that much of the history has been made.
As a young officer, Field Marshal Montgomery was expelled for dancing on the tables.
03:46 GEOFF: So the saviour of British fortunes in Africa was kicked out of ?
TULLET: the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. Yes. That was when he was a very not irresponsible, but gay young subaltern, gay in the old fashioned sense of the word.
04:02
Club exterior As one of the oldest clubs in the world, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club is a treasure trove of sailing artefacts.
04:18 TULLET: The main task Ive always had in the club was to look after the artefacts and
04:34 Tullet now Im probably one of the artefacts myself, I think.
04:39 THOMPSON: Why do you think its important to keep up the traditions of a club like this?
04:48
Tullet TULLET: Well if it aint broke theres no need to fix it really is there, and it seems to be working perfectly well.
04:54
Colonel Tullet currently calls the club his home.
05:16
Tullets room
TULLET: This is my humble abode, or what used to be considered somewhat humble.
GEOFF: It doesnt look too humble.
TULLET: Well its actually one of the smaller rooms in the club. This is undoubtedly I think the best view in India.
05:21
GT: This is the gateway of India.
Gateway Tullet: This is the gateway of India. It was built in 1930, but the original building was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George the fifth. 05:38
b&w stills The Royal Bombay Yacht Clubs whites only policy may be a thing of the past, but modern India has retained its very own species of inequality.
Gulshan Rai is the clubs top sailor.
(sound up)
He was awarded Indias most prestigious sports prize for sailing from Britain to India as well as his countrys equivalent of a knighthood for a round the world voyage.
But someone else actually did the sailing.
05:46
Tindal on sailing boat
Gulshan Rai
GULSHAN: They are known as Tindals T I N D A L . Tindal is an English word for skipper the only unfortunate thing is that they are illiterate but they are very good. They have a resilience which I do not have and he is my arms and legs because I dont know how to swim, so when there is heavy weather or there is a change of sails, he is the one who goes on the open deck and does all the deck work, and I have never stepped out of Bombay harbour without a Tindal.
GEOFF: So are you the real sailor or are they?
GULSHAN: Well, I would say Im the real navigator; hes the real sailor.
06:52
THOMPSON: But the low-class Tindals might have to wait another few hundred years before theyre allowed to be members of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. 06:55
Reporter: Geoff Thompson
Camera: Geoffrey Lye
Editor: Simon Brynjolffssen
Research: Juhee Ahmed