When Richard Cole-Hamilton, captain of The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, strides past the storied 1826 sundial to exchange insignias with his counterpart at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) later this month, it will mark a tryst between two of the world?s oldest golfing institutions.

As part of its 175th anniversary celebrations, RCGC, housing the oldest greens and fairways outside the British Isles, will welcome on board R&A, the ?home of golf?, which turned 250 this July, as well as the Royal Colombo Golf Club, coming off its 125th birthday bash.

The week-long gala (November 20-28), presented by Airtel in association with The Telegraph, and featuring 14 other Royal Clubs from all over the world, promises to stoke legend and ?evoke images of World War II, the British Gurkhas and the Royal Air Forces?.

As representatives of the Royal Ashdown Forest, Royal Belfast, Royal Perth and Royal Liverpool swing their clubs in sync with the setting, the gleaming boards like the St Andrews Tankard and the Blackheath Medal at Royal?s Golf Club Road premises are sure to derive a brighter sheen.

Chipping in with national flavour would be the likes of Bangalore Golf Club, a hundred-plus itself, Bombay Presidency and Madras Gymkhana.

Launching the programme for the ?historic week? on Monday, RCGC captain Aveek Sarkar vowed to restore the lost glory of what was once the capital of Asian golf.

?We hope to be among the top six Asian courses in the next five years, and it goes with the mood of the resurgent Bengal we are seeing at the moment,? he said.

Sarkar felt golf, a favourite with the Japanese and other Southeast Asian investors who have Bengal on their radar now, was ?a necessity? for industrial revitalisation of the state.

?We are fortunate to have a readymade course of international standard like the RCGC and must seek to leverage this core strength,? he stressed.

B.M. Khaitan, patron of the club, agreed golf could be the catalyst for making Calcutta one of the biggest industrial hubs in the country.

?The 175th anniversary celebrations of RCGC, with an exhaustive international guest list, are extremely significant, since the event could go a long way in showcasing the business and tourism potential of the state,? he pointed out.

The club management promises it would be a week to remember, from glow-golf with fluorescent balls on candle-lit fairways to an evening of ?old Firpo?s music? by Pam Crain and Don Saigal. From pulsating gigs by Skinny Alley and Barefoot to a throwback to the lost sights and sounds of Park Street by Usha Uthup and gang on the wind-up night ? it?ll be a blast, says Brandon D? Souza, president, Tiger Sports Marketing (TSM), event managers for the meet.

Apart from Leander Paes and Kapil Dev, RCGC will felicitate previous all-India champions and other golfers who have done Calcutta and India proud.

While confirmations have been received from national legends like Ashok Malik, R.K. Pitambar and our own Bunny Lakshman Singh, crack pro Arjun Atwal will also grace the occasion.

The golfing fraternity, past and present, will be joined on the fairways by corporate bigwigs like Sunil Mittal, Shashi Ruia and Pawan Munjal in the big-ticket event supported by Eveready, Rasoi, RPG Group, Essar, ITC Sonar Bangla, Daks, Kingfisher and Sula.

The curtains come down with a competitive inter-club and invitee golf meet involving visiting foreign clubs and top-notch national outfits.