BENGALURU: This week saw some good news, with liquor shops being opened. News channels were filled with reports of long lines outside liquor stores, as people patiently waited for their share of booze like civilised, educated citizens of the world’s largest democracy. However, there has been a lot of backlash about the government’s decision to open liquor stores. Since those buying the booze must be too busy to defend themselves, someone has to stand up for them. Someone has to prove that they are hapless citizens who also stand in line for groceries and other essentials. And that is why Yours Truly has decided to speak for those whose speech is slurred.
Not enough has been written about the joys of a bar. I don’t mean the posh ‘lounges’ that are seen in upmarket localities. I am talking about the cheap bars with gigantic posters that read – Heaven’s – Lead a Chilled Life - *Music CDs and Golf Accessories. Where the music playing is not saxophone covers of Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits, but decade-old songs by Himesh Reshammiya so you can take a bit of nostalgia along with your drink. Where the price of alcohol is not a mockery of your monthly salary, but a mere checklist on your daily expenses.
There is a socialist charm to visiting an inexpensive bar in the daytime. Anybody can have a drink in the evenings or nights, but it takes a truly passionate alcoholic to turn up at a bar at 10am. A bar in the daytime is inhabited by people who understand that to truly live is to put their liver on the line. Cheap bars do not judge you - and at the same time, do not expect to be judged by you. There is an all-encompassing smell of cheap beer all over the place, and the tablecloths have enough infection to put Corona to shame. Ditching the black-and-white uniform, the waiters are dressed in casuals. The chakna, or ‘stuff’ is a complimentary dish that follows the principle of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam – where whatever you order essentially tastes the same.
If you wish to witness true brotherhood among men, you must visit a cheap bar when it opens at 10am. You will get to witness people from all walks of life. College students bunking college for a few drinks, and office-goers bunking office for the same reason. Middle-aged men who drop in for a few drinks after applying for a ‘Half-day’ at their workplace. All of them escaping the harsh sunlight of their everyday lives, in the darkness of the bar.
Unlike Twitter, a cheap bar is a non-judgmental space. Want to order 12 beers at 11am? Go right ahead! Had too much to drink and need to take a nap on the table for a few hours? Nobody is going to disturb you (just remember to put your phone and wallet in your pocket!). People from different walks of life, age groups, religions and sects merge into one incoherent babble, thanks to the Indian habit of speaking in English after a few drinks. By 12pm, as the world around them settles into the hustle-bustle of their daily work, the comrades in the cheap bars laugh and sing and raise a toast to friends and strangers alike.
As my brothers and sisters standing patiently in queues on the roads get judged by the judgmental folks on Twitter, I want them to know that Yours Truly truly understands and empathises with their cause. Hic!