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One of the most hallowed institutions and one of the oldest clubs in Mumbai, Bombay Gymkhana celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. The iconic venue hosted India's first-ever Test match on Indian soil. It was played against England from December 15-18, 1933.

In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Sanjiv Saran Mehra, President of the Bombay Gymkhana, shares his views and thoughts on the occasion and plans for the club's future. Excerpts..

Q: What are your thoughts on the momentous occasion of the Bombay Gymkhana's 150th anniversary?..

A: "It's a proud moment not just for the Club but the city at large and all the sports lovers and enthusiasts as it has a very rich sporting legacy. When the club started off way back in 1875, it was a vision of two officers of Royal Engineers who instituted this club. They felt there is a crying need for a club of this nature in Bombay at that point of time where all sporting activities were scattered all over Bombay. We were one club that amalgamated all the sports. So yes, to that extent, Bombay Gymkhana is responsible for the sporting revolution, sporting eco-system and the birth of structured sports activities in the city of Mumbai."

Q: You had a logo unveiling ceremony earlier in the year with former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar and your oldest member Vicaji Taraporevala gracing the occasion. How do you feel about that?..

A: Yes, absolutely. It was a very rare occasion and only for members and their families basically. The idea was to get not only the children but their parents, grandparents. So that they all feel a sense of pride of being part of such a historic occasion and it was very important for the current generation to be exposed this kind of an event and function of the institution that is 150 years old. In today's dynamic age, there are so many distractions and it can sort of result in things going downhill. That tempo has to be maintained and that is why members got to know much more than what they were aware of.

Q: At the heart of the Bombay Gymkhana is sports and the importance the club attaches to sporting events. Tell me a bit about the sporting history associated with the club.

A: If you go down memory lane, we must have had 20 plus sports and as a club we have evolved, so there used to be horse riding, there used to be polo, golf, equestrian, sailing, bowls, gymnastics and roller skating. So as per whatever sport is trending, the club adapts to that but the key highlight was that as far as field sports, we were one of the first to introduce rugby in India. Ofcourse, Kolkata is another city which has long history of rugby there and we had lot of football there. Most importantly, we are the venue for the first ever Test match played in India in 1933 in cricket which Bombay Gymkhana hosted. Yes, we have a long and strong history which we are extremely proud of and to that extent I can say we are a sports powerhouse. I can also claim that we are one of the world's oldest multi-sports clubs which is active till date. Last year, we introduced a polo event after almost 100 years and we repeated it this year. We've also introduced a 10k run because we used to have an athletics challenge in the 1880s.

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Q: The great Lala Amarnath scored a hundred in the first ever Test match held at the Bombay Gymkhana in 1933. Any memories or anecdotes that you have heard about?..

A: Well..I wish I was present (laughs) in 1933..but there is another interesting story in 1933 when the visiting MCC team played the Hindus. It was one of the matches where CK Nayudu showed his batting prowess and scored extremely well. The word spead far and wide and it was surprising since at that time because there were no mobiles that time. In no time, huge crowds turned up and the ICC understood that we were ready for Test cricket. So ofcourse, I can only imagine and visualize how exciting India vs England would have been and how popular. We used to have these Quadrangulars, the Hindus, Paris, the Christians regularly had their leagues.

Vicaji Taraporevala was there at the match. The excitement of being there must have been absolutely magical.

Q: I've heard that Rahul Bose used to play Rugby for Bombay Gymkhana back in the day..

A: Rahul Bose used to play Rugby very actively and he was also a part of the Indian team as well and we were like the main base for rugby in India along with CCFC. Over the years, the sport grew bigger and its in a far better place with the Rugby Premier League coming into being.

Q: What are the other events that are lined up this year?..

A: You know the plans have been discussed internally. We will be conducting multiple events in various sports. We believe a lot in the grassroot level. Across the board, we are going to be devising programs other than the inter-school championships that we host. We'll be conducting many of our own junior championships. We will be open to doing tie-ups for district-level and state-level championships. In August, we'll be hosting Maharashtra State Squash Championships and so each section is being given roles.

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Q: Any charitable initiatives that Bombay Gymkhana is undertaking on the occasion?..

A: As per our charter, we cannot do charity as such. But in our own way we have been supporting the cause of Olympic Gold Quest. And other than that we host a lot of events under the BG Cares umbrella. We organise sporting events to help the underpriviledged children and differently abled children as well.

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