An 11-storey building under construction in Chennai collapses with many migrant workers dying and there is not a murmur from much of the political class in Tamil Nadu (“ >New law on dress code for clubs ,” July 17). A private club denies entry to a judge and a couple of lawyers who were wearing dhotis, and the State contemplates legislation! What kind of society are we living in? Is this one of the indicators of human development? The imperial action of the club in question and the reaction by protesters/ the state lack balance.
N.K. Raveendran,
Bangalore
A club is an association of persons with similar interests and activities and who are willing to follow a particular code of conduct/behaviour/dress and so on. It is imperative that rules, however quixotic they may appear to a non-member, be strictly followed by members. Guests too are expected to follow the rules and it is the sole responsibility of the member who invites them to ensure this. A guest is at liberty to decline the invitation but he has no right to insist on his own terms of conduct including the dress code. A club is like one’s home and any guest, who is invited, is most welcome as long as he or she follows the conventions therein. The fault in this case lies neither with the rules of the club nor the guests but with the member who failed to brief his guests well.
Israel Kadakshamani,
Wellington, Nilgiris
The veshti and dhoti are an integral part of our culture. Clubs that harp on codes and then humiliate guests must move shop. We may have won independence but still exhibit a slavish mentality.
S. Venugopalan,
Chennai
Most South Indians wear a dhoti or mundu on a variety of occasions. Even the former Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, was always clad in dhoti inside Parliament and was a picture of sophistication. Malaysians and Indonesians wear sarongs . Banning the men from entry into the club is against one’s choice and personal freedom.
Malaya Krishnamurthy
Visakhapatnam
The dhoti is a traditional dress of the South and no one can say that it is not a decent and a formal garment. Would the association in question bar women from draping saris and ask them to wear frocks and skirts? The (then) proscription on the wearing of dhotis by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association can be compared to the Cricket Association in England prohibiting the wearing of suits by men. Political parties in Tamil Nadu are right in expressing their angst at the colonial regulation. These elite associations need to be disciplined through state diktat.
K.R. Jayaprakash Rao,
Mysore
