
Parmananddas Jivandas Hindu Gymkhana, Primarily, historically known as Hindu Gymkhana is a
gymkhana
Gymkhana () (, , , , ) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held. "Gymkhana" is an Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the ...
(social and sporting club) located along
Marine Drive in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
.
It originally started as Hindu Cricket Club in 1878.
The gymkhana itself was inaugurated by then
Governor of Bombay
Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
,
Lord Harris on 5 May 1894. At that time it was located on
Marine Lines, which was its only access route as
Marine Drive was yet to be reclaimed.
[ Until 1942, membership of the gymkhana was restricted to people of ]Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
religion. In 1942, when the government occupied the adjacent premises of the Islam Gymkhana and Parsi Gymkhana in Bombay during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the gymkhana threw its membership open to Parsi
The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...
s and Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s as an "emergency measure". Hindu Gymkhana was responsible for fielding the ''Hindu XI'' in the Bombay Quadrangular
The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then at the Brabourne Stadi ...
and its successor Bombay Pentangular
The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Bombay Gymkhana Ground, Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then ...
cricket tournaments. The gymkhana is one of the founder members of the Bombay Cricket Association
The Mumbai Cricket Association (formerly Bombay Cricket Association) is the governing body for cricket in Mumbai and surrounding regions such as Thane, Navi Mumbai. Its headquarters is situated at Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate.
It governs M ...
. Hindu Gymkhana organises several tournaments such as ''Purshottam Shield Cricket Tournament'', which is the oldest tournament started in 1912 that it organises.
The Gymkhana has been identified as a Heritage Grade IIA structure. As the gymkhana land belongs to the collector, one of its lease conditions is that the grounds should be accessible by the general public and non-sporting activities such as weddings are allowed to be held at the ground for up to 30 days in the year. In 2010, the local residents association moved court to ban non-sporting activities at the ground, since the general public was being denied access to it, something which the gymkhana denied. In 2011, the collector restricted non-sport events to 25 days a year only on weekdays.
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...
gave his first television interview to Tom Alter
Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
Early life
Born in Mussoorie ...
at the Hindu Gymkhana grounds. Indian Batsman Eknath Solkar was the son of a groundsman at Hindu Gymkana.
See also
* Hindu Gymkhana, Karachi
The Hindu Gymkhana ( Sindhi:هندو جمخانه; ) is a colonial-era building located on Sarwar Shaheed Road in Karachi, Pakistan. It was the first public building in Karachi to adopt the Mughal-Revival architectural style. It was established ...
References
{{Sports Clubs in Mumbai
Sports clubs and teams in Mumbai
1878 establishments in India
Sports clubs and teams established in 1878