Like many pioneering initiatives it was a series of terrible events that took place in the waters around Kolkata, which led to the realization that swimming and lifesaving were essential skills that everyone needed. Exactly a century ago, the capsizing of a passenger steamer on the Hooghly River that claimed over a hundred young lives, and a spate of drowning incidents in Kolkata's waterways, sparked a public debate on the widespread lack of swimming ability and lifesaving skills among Bengal's youth.
Within a few years later a group of determined individuals started giving demonstrations in formal training for swimming and lifesaving, including one on 26th August 1921 at the College Square swimming pool that was attended by several learned and distinguished persons, including Lord Lytton, soon to be the Governor of Bengal. Within a year of that demonstration, with continued patronage from a few royal houses of erstwhile Kolkata and the Governor of the province, the Indian Life Saving Society (ILSS) was formed and the inaugural meeting of the Society held on 1st August 1922.
Inspired by pioneering associations like the Royal Life Saving Society, the Royal Humane Society and similar organizations in Europe and America, the credo on which the Society was founded was "To evoke the latent faculties dormant in the human hearts through the public services and physical culture". Though couched in the ornate language of its time, the motto was simply aimed at getting the best out of the youth, in mind and body, through immersion in the service of society and physical development.
As a key purpose of the newly formed ILSS was to develop " a life saving service and to promote systematic and scientific education in physical culture" as pioneered by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), to which ILSS sought, and was given, affiliation in 1926.
The Servant, a well-known newspaper of the time, announced the formalizing of this affiliation in their issue of 23rd March 1926. Another local daily, Amrita Bazar Patrika reported on 24th October, 1926 that: "With a view to forming a 'Life Saving Brigade' the Management of the Indian Life Saving Society has decided to hold an examination on 'how to save life from the water graves', in the line suggested by the Royal Life Saving Society".
The report also went on to show how this was to be achieved: "A series of practical lectures on the Hooghly have been arranged for the swimmers to make them fit for the severe test. The Society will enlist the young swimmers in their new enterprises". Following India's independence in 1947, ILSS duly discontinued the affiliation it had with RLSS.
In keeping with nationalist principles, though patronage was sought and granted by the then Governor of Bengal, the management of ILSS had always been a staunchly Indian enterprise. The Society's clubhouse was inaugurated in 1937 by the erstwhile Governor, Sir John Anderson, and named 'Anderson House' in his honour, which led to the misnomer of ILSS being known to many as 'Anderson Club' since. The patronage of the Governor of West Bengal though has continued unchanged, and every occupant of the Raj Bhavan has graced the Society's functions.
ILSS's tradition of training members of the public in swimming continues with over 4000 youngsters benefiting from this facility every year, for a very nominal fee. ILSS members' children, or 'Junior Associates' as they are known, are trained free of cost. Promising young swimmers, from among the public as well as member's children, are selected for 'advanced training' - which has over the years produced top-class swimmers who have successfully competed for the Society, their schools and universities, as well as in the colours of Bengal and India too. Once a veritable nursery for water polo and long-distance swimming, these sports have suffered recent and widespread neglect, though a water-polo team trained at ILSS recently claimed state-level honours.
The tradition of training lifesavers in the latest techniques continues even today, with the Society's 'Life Saving Certificate' being a widely recognized qualification. Units of the Indian Army's paramilitary forces are also being trained in these techniques, in view of the crucial role they have in rescue and relief missions following natural disasters or at large festive gatherings like the Kumbh Mela. ILSS has, going back several decades, provided teams of lifeguards at events like the Gangasagar Mela and the annual immersion ceremonies that follow the Pujas.
Fast forward several years, and ILSS today is a thriving society with 8000 permanent members, among which are several ladies who are members in their own right - in a great tradition of equality. Each year sees a full calendar of cultural events that feature ILSS members, as well as performances by a range of contemporary stars. Over the years, a number of luminaries of the city, the state and the nation have been inducted as 'Honorary Members' of the Society.
Several invited experts have delivered talks on matters of health and public interest, aimed at specific demographics of the Society's membership. Then there are the long lunches and delectable dinners to mark special occasions, seasonal picnics and outings, cricket and football matches where the President's XI plays the Secretary's XI. Though the crown jewel among ILLS's events is the legendary water ballet.
Perhaps first inspired by the popular 1950s Hollywood film Bathing Beauty, featuring the actress Esther Williams, ILSS's water ballet is today a unique performing art form. Here the pool is the stage, on which the aesthetic of the nritya-natya comes together with intricate feats of synchronized individual and formation swimming, all of which is set to music and performed live, in full dramatic costume and make-up, to a poolside audience of thousands.
Over the years, a range of literary or musical works, ranging from the expected (Tasher Desh, Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) to the unexpected (The Discovery of India, Abhigyan Shakuntalam) have been successfully adapted for performance in water. Several editions of the water ballet have been staged in other Indian cities, toured abroad and often featured on television.
The present ILSS premises includes two swimming pools and purpose-built facilities for badminton, table tennis, darts and a card room - where serious aficionados of bridge congregate daily. A recent addition to the Society's calendar has been the 'Sports Carnival' - which has grown from being an interclub sports meet to a popular annual competition that now includes Kolkata's corporate houses. A well-stocked bar, with facilities for viewing large-screen live sport, is also a popular attraction at ILSS.
In keeping with its location as part of Rabindra Sarobar - affectionately known as the 'lungs of south Kolkata' - environmental concern and the nurturing of flora remains a key part of the ILSS ethos. The Society's lawns, featuring mature trees, seasonal shrubs and flowering plants remain the pride of its members - many of whom are actively involved in its upkeep. ILSS's initiatives in this area has been recognized at events like the annual High Court Flower Show and in the form of an 'Excellence Award' from Horticultural Society of India.
For the last few years, a free vocational school named 'Education Plus' is being run by our lady members voluntarily for the underprivileged girl children of the locality, on various streams including physical exercise and of course swimming. Healthy midday meal is being provided daily to these students. History, buildings, premises and activities aside, any collection of individuals is known by the quality of its membership and the contribution they make, and ILSS is no different. From the octogenarians who never miss their daily swim to the members' children who take their first steps on the ILSS lawns; from the strapping swimmers scything through the still waters of the Lake early in the morning to the stalwarts of the Ladies Circle diligently rehearsing their next play late into the evening; the many CEC members who render unseen, but yeoman's, service in keeping the Society ticking over or just the members who drop in occasionally for a swim, bite, a drink and a spot of adda - all together make ILSS a diverse and distinctive 'family' - to which this note serves as an introduction.