"It is hard to believe that it was started originally as a Literary and Academic Institute. Like the Mythic Society, there was a time when it looked it too... A beautifully designed stone structure sitting pretty right in the middle of a vast rectangular lawn surrounded by lanes on four sides enclosed by a dainty green wooden barricade. Some how the club got stamped as an Anglo Indian Club during the war years... Now the pendulum has swung all the way out to what is perhaps the biggest assemblage of card players of any club. The hallmark of the past time is there is hardly any conversation. Outside however it is a busy hive of parties and hard tipplers... As a remnant of its origins as a Literary Institute the Club has one of the most imposing Reading Rooms and Library..."

Contrary to popular belief, the Bowring Institute was founded by B.L Rice CIE, Director of Public Instruction, Mysore and author of the Mysore Gazette and other works on Mysore State and not L B Bowring after whom it was named. Rice was the founder president, who with a group of philanthropists like P N Krishnamurthi esq, B L Jagirdar of Yelandur and Rao Bahadur A Narainswamy Mudaliar started the Bangalore Literary and Scientific Institute.

In 1868 this group wanted a forum for the intellectual and moral improvement of Bangaloreans. A reading room, library and a series of lectures were planned with a membership subscription of one rupee per month. L B Bowring, the then Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg, became the president and the Maharaja of Mysore became the patron. The other prime mover being the Commanding Officer of the Mysore division, General Haines. The institute first began in rented premises at 7, Museum Road with a membership75 people. Since Bowring left for England in 1869 secretary B L Rice took over and he obtained a grant from the Mysore government of Rs 50 per month as donation for the reading room and library. Rice decided to hunt for a permanent building. Meanwhile in 1884, the Literary and Scientific Institute shifted to 2/21 Residency Road as the rent on Museum Road was raised from Rs 15 to Rs 24 while the premises cost only Rs 10.

Although the Mysore Government offered a site in Cubbon Park, the foundation stone for the original building was laid by Lady Prendergast at the Bandstand in St. Mark's Square in 1888. On August 30, 1888, Rice announced that Major General Rowlands Commanding the Mysore Division had granted a portion of the Bandstand in St Mark's Square for the proposed institute. The Mysore government contributed Rs 10,000 and the Government of India, Rs 5000 while the Bowring testimonial fund was Rs 6,780, making it of Rs 21,780.

The name was officially settled as the Bowring Institute and a building committee was constituted. The architect of the building was G Gibson, municipal engineer who was paid Rs 300 and the building contractors were M/S Vardon and Paupannah. the building was completed in 1891 at a cost of Rs 23,000/-. There was a Billards room, a card room, theater, tennis courts, a library and a reading room. The entrance fee to the large building set in a large garden was Rs. 3/-. According to old bulletins, games such as Brag and Baccarat were played at the Institute in the early days, even though gambling was forbidden and a loss of Rs 4300/- was registered in the bulletin of July 20, 1905. Therefore it was no suprise when the November 2 bulletin the same year recorded that the game of Brag was struck out and Picquet substituted.

The Bowring Institute was once frequented mainly by Anglo-Indians. There were May Queen Balls with young girls wearing pastel dresses and flowers in their hair. Olive Dozey, a stately octogenarian and one of the oldest members of the Institute, remembers attending "wonderful dances" where the women had little cards with slim pencils attached to note down the names of the men who had asked them for particular dances. Gen Thimmaiah reminisces about how two young service members of the Bangalore Club were thrashed because they went to meet the Eurasian girls at the Institute. Very unfair for those were the prettiest ever to walk down the St. Mark's Road !

Today the club has the first ISO 9001-2000 recognition and boasts of a membership of 4355, which comprises of Honorary Life, Life & Permanent members in addition to Corporate, Life Associate, Associate, Long Term Temporary, Short Term Temporary andNon Resident Members. The Institute is affiliated to around 82 clubs across the country and abroad. What began as a modest spattering of guest rooms was soon envisaged as a potential asset and the management embarked upon a visionary expansion program where the institute would play host to many of the member's guests visiting the city. Today the institute has a total of 60 guest rooms, catering to various categories and class. The luxurious Presidential Suites are 6 in number followed by twelve cottages for families. There are 34 air-conditioned rooms and 8 non-air-conditioned rooms with reasonably priced tariff. The guest rooms are the biggest attraction and the average occupancy rate at the Bowring Institute stands at 98% almost throughout the year.

For the sports lovers and fitness freaks, the club provides five tennis courts, which have been patronized by 'greats' such as Roy Emerson, Bobby Howe, Ramanathan Krishnan to name a few. The club runs a tennis academy for young lovers of the game. The wooden floored Badminton Courts have also been a great attraction with the majority of members queuing up to get a game. the Institute provides four billiard tables and boasts of some of the national figures such as Arivind Savur being on of its regular members. The latest name doing the rounds of the billiards and snooker circuit is the club's own product, Pankaj Advani, who learnt his skills under the watchful eyes of the Maestro Savur at the Green Baize-Billiards Room of the club. o add to the assets of the institute, it has a lovely swimming pool that draws in a large number of swimming enthusiasts. The club also has a well-equipped Health Club & Gym.

The main air-conditioned bar is an attraction of the Club's members and guests as it offers the finest of wines and spirits at the most competitive rates. For the card lovers the club has a spacious cards room for Rummy & Bridge. On Tuesdays, the old-timers who love "Whist" come for their "Whist" Drive and Thursdays the more serious play Bridge. the club has a very entertaining schedule drawn up for the member's every month.

The Club continues to grow and the plans for the new ventures and developments are on ongoing process as the ISO encourages it to look ahead and ensure that the graph towards progress is steadily rising. Today the Institute may be something else from what the founders intended it to be...the literacy and scientific pursuits have been replaced by amusements but the Bowring Institute still has the best of what it has inherited..!