A jashan ceremony performed on the morning of April 10, 2015 marked the reopening of Bombay’s Ripon Club followed by a special lunch with pulav dal and lagan nu custard. The Club had remained closed for about a month following a fire that broke out in the building triggering a short circuit at the Club’s premises.
(Clockwise, from top): Ripon Club dining room; Jimmy Pochkhanawalla, Xerxes Dastur, Rohinton Dhalla,
Dara Mehta, Jamshed Lentin; caterer Tehmtan Dumasia (3rd from left) with family and kitchen staff;
jashan in hall Photos: Jasmine D. Driver
Ripon Club chairman Xerxes V. Dastur sent an email to members informing them of the development, in which he revealed: "The fire burnt down portions of our kitchen and compelled us to stop all operations until we complied with certain procedures as prescribed by the Fire Department. A comprehensive survey was undertaken by the Fire Department and we were told not to store any gas cylinders on our Club floors and to store them only on the ground floor level. Upon receiving the landlord’s approval we created a cage at the back end at the ground floor of the building where we will henceforth store the cylinders and have the gas piped up to our kitchen. After completing this task we have now finally been granted a no objection certificate from the Fire Department permitting us to resume operations at the Club.”
Dastur acknowledged that the trustees and managing committee members have taken vast amounts of time out of their schedules to ensure that operations resumed as soon as possible. The Club has undertaken repairs and re-wiring work in the entire kitchen and other damaged portions. As the Club is a small establishment operating with limited funds, minimal expenditure was incurred for this.
Dastur extended special thanks to caterer Tehmtan Dumasia who liaised with the Fire Department and ensured that all approvals were granted.