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You may not find any chemist shop or a kirana shop open at seven in the morning. You might find that the doctor in the nearby hospital is missing so early in the morning even if you go there for an emergency treatment. You may not find much activity and people on the road. But liquor shops religiously open early in the morning without a fail. They realise the business potential of opening shops early as some hard core veterans end their evening hangover by gulping a peg or two in the morning. Only then do they complete their morning chores.
Though the official timings of the liquor shops here is 7 am to 11 pm , those who swear by their drink would vouch for the fact that they can get it round the clock without any hitch. The liquor shops could “officially” closed by 11 pm but from under the shutter of several shops you can purchase your favourite brand anytime after that. The liquor vend employees work in multiple shifts and the night shift operator gets in action after the official timings are over.
Even the dry days here are observed by celebrating the occasion with a drink. On dry days, the shops open in the evening and the lovers of Bacchus converge in large numbers to raise a toast to the occasion be it Independence Day, Republic Day or the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Munna bhai in Rajkumar Hirani’s “Lage Raho Munnabhai” could not find liquor shops on Gandhi Jayanti in Mumbai, but perhaps the Director was not aware that at sharp 5 pm , the shops opened on October 2 in Punjab and all brands were available. The friendly neighbourhood bootlegger, who does a brisk business on dry days across the length and breadth of the country, has been pushed out of business in Punjab . The poor chap in the land of five rivers has found some other business.
Prices of liquor in Punjab and Chandigarh Delhi Punjab .
Though there are no official figures nor has any attempt been made to do an empirical study comparing the consumption of water vis a vis liquor in Punjab and which of the two is consumed more, but some die-hard fans of alcohol say that the true devout, drinks water only when it is mixed in the drink and not “neat”.
No wonder, the state government has realised that it cannot afford to invite the wrath of these voters who simply dislike any changes in the timings of the liquor shops, more so in the election year. A Public Interest Litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court brought this into the fore and wanted a reduction in the timings. Facing an election, the state government filed an affidavit in the court saying that licenses have been issued to the liquor vends on a set of rules and these rules cannot be changed in the middle of the Excise year. To put it in a simple manner, the state government did not want to play with the sentiments of the people.
“The fixed opening and closing hours of liquor vends constitute a term and condition of such a license, which could not be altered between period of the year. Large revenues received from these liquor licenses by way of license fee and other levies could be put at a stake,” the state Excise and Taxation Commissioner reasoned.
Not satisfied with the reasoning of the state government, the High Court adopted a tough posture forcing the state government to convene a meeting of the state Cabinet. It decided to change the timings of liquor shops and people would get three hours less to equip themselves with the bottles of their choice. The shops would open at 9 am and close at 10 pm. But the new timings would be applicable only after the current Excise Year. This simply means that the timings of the opening and closing of liquor shops would not become a poll issue in the Assembly elections, scheduled in February next year.
I have been living in Chandigarh for over five months now and have made on and off forays in Punjab in this period, but the excitement around liquor shops and the accompanying ‘taverns’ is something which cannot be found anywhere in the country, except perhaps Goa. These drinking dens have become the hotbed of political decision and governments are made at the moment and dethroned by the intense discussions which take place.
A taxi driver who has obviously seen much more Punjab than I have, sermoned, “If you want to gauze the political temperature of the state ahead of the polls, make it a point to sit here and listen to the conversations”. I don’t know whether political journalism here seriously means baptism at a liquor outlet.
Even as markets and shops are in the festive spirit and packaging of gifts is the order of the day, liquor shops here have turned innovative. Not to be left behind in the season of profit making, they have gift packages of choicest liquor bottles. As this is the first festival season for me in the city, I simply marveled at the idea, having never seen this anywhere. Attractively packaged in baskets with decorative colours, these gifts of liquor is sure to win the heart of your booze loving boss or the government officials from whom you want a work done, say the locals.
As liquor and popular culture go together in this part of the country, I was reminded of the senior Bachchan’s (Hari Vansh Rai) immortal Madhushala. Ek Barsh me ek baar hi jagti holi ki Jwala, ek baar hi lagti baaji jalti deepo ki maala, Diniyawalo kintu kisi din aa madiralaya me dekho, di ko holi raat Diwali roz manati Madhushala. Roughly translated, “Holi comes only once in a year and so does Diwali; But come to the drinking den (Madhushala) which celebrates Holi during the day and Diwali during the night, everyday.
I may or may not agree. It does not matter.
(Sunday, October 23, 2011)
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