CHENNAI: The nights are dull, sober. The roads are empty. Cops at every corner. An eerie silence. What happened to the Chennai nightlife? Where did the buzzing crowd vanish?
Lots of clubs have mushroomed in the city. Every one wants to party. But unlike Mumbai and Delhi, cities that never sleep, Chennai clubs shut down by 11. Although the city is known as an IT hub, Chennai’s nightlife calendar hasn’t kept pace with the residents’ increased wealth and social mobility. For one, there aren’t many great nightclubs here and two, even the existing ones are forced to pull down the shutters early into the night. Chennaiites might insist that the city is no longer conservative but the question is, where is the happening nightlife then? Let’s look into the mystery.
Mirjam, who works with NGO Banyan, says it's the music that's to blame. “The DJs play random music and every other man in Chennai calls himself a DJ. Also, the liquor is expensive. I prefer attending house parties which are safe rather than go to posh clubs and spend moolah on liquor that is priced half at TASMAC shops.”
Meanwhile, the DJs blame the crowd for their lack of music sense. “Earlier, the crowd went crazy over the music and we enjoyed playing new mixes. Not anymore. Now, they come with their own lists of songs that they listen to regularly.”
The club scenes in Chennai and London are a study in contrast, feels Radhika Ganesh. “The clubs in London follow their rule book like it's the Bible. If you are under-aged or very drunk, you are kicked out. Not so in Chennai,” she says.
Sampath Kumar, Assistant Food and Beverage Manager, Savera, defends, “Every club has its price according to the ambience and the quality of crowd that comes in. As for the music, we know what our customers like, we don't employ amateur DJs, we bring in popular guest DJs on special nights."
That brings us to the gripe over the celebs. “Sometimes, clubs shut down early for the public, but remain open for stars. This special treatment can get annoying,” says Juhi, a student.
Next, stags! “I don't dislike men but there are too many stags out there,” says Asha S, a techie. So, there we have a cross section telling us why the nightlife is so dead. Some blame it on the stags. Some on the music. Others on the curfew. The only consensus is Chennai should ASAP get a life, nightlife!