Dress Code

The school of artillery in Devlali is a beautiful place. Lovely weather, lush green piece of Deccan Plateau and one of the best laid out cantonments makes it heaven on earth. The officers club located near a temple is named Temple Hill Institute-THI in short. It still retains the faded British charm by way of manicured lawns, a wooden dance floor and old buildings with long verandah all of which make it the best place to spend an evening.

I went for the first time to Devlali some years ago and like all others visited the club, along with my parents, at the very first opportunity. It happened to be a tombola Day. The band was playing near the dance floor and the place was more than full. Within minutes of my arrival I saw a waiter at a distance approaching me with a tray. I was surprised because I had not placed any order but this guy was heading straight for me. Anyway, it may be a courtesy drink they could be offering to a new member I thought, and waited anxiously.

When the waiter stopped in front of me, I saw that there was no glass on the tray but a nicely printed card kept on a silver platter. Some style, I thought, and picked up the card to read the greetings. It read "Miss, you are improperly dressed - you may like to change...."

I realized that I was not wearing a blazer and cursed myself for not reading the club rules on arrival. I rushed back home and was too embarrassed to return the same evening. On my way home, an incident much publicized in some magazines, regarding M.F. Hussain being asked to leave a club in Mumbai because he refused to wear footwear, came to my mind. I don't know how they handled Husain Saab, but I was handled in style.

Gone are the days when people loved wearing dinner jackets. Even today, many clubs have strict dress regulations: some do insist on tucked-in-shirts which must have collars, while some are sticklers for ties and others for blazers. The British did this to create an aura of superiority and a sense of being dressed properly for the occasion and feeling good in what they wore. We are preserving these in the name of tradition, some good, some bad and some uncomfortable.

Wearing a good tie or a lounge suit in fair weather keeps your spirits high and makes you feel good. But in summer evening, in the name of decorum, it is stretching things too far. Surely dress code for a community like club members creates a spirit of fraternity, well being and to some extent a sense of belonging to a closed user group. Applied with a little innovation and an open mind this tradition can go on a long way...