Golf Club in row for ‘denying entry’ to lady in Khasi dress
The Delhi Golf Club has courted controversy for allegedly misbehaving with a Khasi governess working with an Abu Dhabi-based doctor from Assam and denying her entry to the club.
The doctor, a guest who was at the club on Sunday, claimed the governess from Meghalaya was not allowed because she was wearing a jainsem, a traditional Khasi dress, and taken for a maid.
The management of the elite club, while admitting an “etiquette problem with the particular staff”, denied that the woman was refused entry because of her dress. It said governesses or other staff members are not allowed unless a guest is wheelchair bound.
The club said the staff concerned who did not behave properly will face disciplinary action. “Clearly, there was an etiquette problem with the particular staff that was handling the guest concerned. We accept they could have handled the situation differently and in a much better way,” said Rajiv Hora, secretary of the club.
Hora said the staff had been sent a show cause notice and disciplinary action would be taken against them.
Dr Nivedita Barthakur had alleged in a Facebook post that Tailin Lyngdoh, the governess, was denied entry to the club on Sunday around 1pm because of her attire despite being invited as a guest of a member.
According to Barthakur, no one at the club stood up for Lyngdoh. Lyngdoh, who is from Mairang, has been working with Barthakur for 10 years.
“Today Tailin Lyngdoh, an extremely proud Khasi lady who has travelled the world in her jainsem from London to UAE was thrown out of the Delhi Golf Club because her dress was taken for a maid’s uniform! Despite she being invited in her own right as a guest of a member,” Barthakur said.
Barthakur dubbed it as an example of “North Indian bigotry, chauvinism and ignorance”.
She told HT, “She (Lyngdoh) was part of a group of nine, and we were guests of Pam Goyal Thimmaya, one of the longest standing members of the club. We were utterly humiliated. The room was full of people dripping in diamonds and pearls and no one stepped forward. After a while, rather than cause our 80-plus hostess any more grief, we left.”
Barthakur’s post evoked sharp reactions, ranging from ignorance about the northeast to racial profiling.
Hora said the management personally tried reaching out to Ms Barthakur to apologise. “But she is travelling and is on a flight. We have spoken to the member (Pam Goyal) whose guest she was. Ms Goyal has said its okay and that it was a misunderstanding,” he said.