Eleanor Roosevelt speaking at the club in 1952 Lady Hydari Club was an elite club exclusive to women in the erstwhile

Hyderabad state Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

in India. It was located in what is now the Old Gandhi Medical College near Basheerbagh.

History

The club was started in 1929 by Lady

Amina Hydari Amina Hydari (1878–1939) was an Indian social worker. In 1908, she received the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal, the first woman recipient, for her work during the Great Musi Flood of 1908. The wife of former Prime Minister of Kingdom of Hyderabad Akbar ...

so that women could play tennis and socialise. The club is named in commemoration of Lady

, wife of

Sir Akbar Hydari :''To be distinguished from his son who was the Governor of Assam, Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari.'' Sir Muhammad Akbar Nazar Ali Hydari, ''Sadr ul-Maham'', His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (8 November 1869 – November 1941) was an ...

, President of the Nizam’s Executive Council, 1938-42. It was used by both elite Indian and British women and The Hyderabad Ladies’ Association Club which was founded in 1901. In 1952 there was a conference of social workers at the club. One of the speakers was Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Club

The building was designed by Zain Yar Jung. It featured a special entrance which allowed veiled women ( zenana) to be delivered by car and enter without being seen. The large entrance foyer opened out onto rooms and halls. Women could play Tambola, cards or badminton or take lessons in cooking or needlework. The club use to organize an annual tennis tournament for women. The club was at one time the fashionable location for weddings. The club once ran a school for the poor of the area and it had a library of Urdu, Telugu and English books.

Present

The club building was annexed to be part of the Gandhi Medical College in 1986. The college felt that the space used by the club was too lavish and the club was obliged to allow the college to use it. In 2011 the club had 120 members but its buildings were in need of renovation.

Notable members

, wife of

, Prime Minister of Hyderabad State *

Nilüfer Hanımsultan Nilüfer is the Turkish word for "water lily", from Persian ''nilufar'' (نیلوفر), which is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word for the blue lotus, ''nīlotpala'' (नीलोत्पल). It is a popular feminine given name in Turkey ...

, an Ottoman princess who married Moazzam Jah, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan's son.

References

{{Reflist Culture of Hyderabad, India Hyderabad State Organizations established in 1929 Women's organisations based in India 1929 establishments in India Women from Hyderabad State People from Hyderabad State