VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
It is that time of the year when
the banners of ‘sale’ have been splashed all over Chandigarh
in front of the liquor shops. The lovers of Bacchus are thronging the liquor
shops in dozens and coming out with cartons on their heads and shoulders. They
are stocking the supplies for the next few weeks and months.
The joint capital of Punjab and
Haryana-Chandigarh must be one of the few places in the country where ‘sale’ on
liquor takes place annually and this is eagerly awaited by all those who want
to save the extra bucks for what they call an ‘essential commodity’.
This attracts people who love
their drink from all over the States of Punjab and Haryana and violating the
excise law, they carry whatever they fancy and their pockets permit. As the
prices this time are 40 per cent to 50 per cent cheaper than “normal” days, the
anxiety to hoard as much liquor as possible is writ large on the faces of all
those who swear by their drink.
But this time, my focus is on Punjab ,
which is has now become the liquor capital of the country as its competitor
Kerala is facing tough days due to Government policies.
Liquor is a part of life here,
what some would term as elixir of life. Something without which an average
Punjabi finds his evening bereft of colour and excitement. No wonder the State
Government has realised this and the vends here practically supply booze round
the clock.
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 hardcore 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 9 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 any
time 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.
Munnabhai 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 ,
Haryana and Chandigarh too are very
competitive, aimed to attract more people, get new converts and also to retain
the loyal customers. There could be great swing in the prices of vegetables and
other essential commodities but price of liquor has practically remained
constant for a long time. A bottle which could cost say, Rs500 in Uttar
Pradesh, Uttarakhand or Delhi ,
could be 30 per cent cheaper in State capital Chandigarh
on normal days. Of course during “sale”, this price becomes all the more
attractive.
Though there are no official
figures nor has any attempt been made to do an empirical study comparing the
consumption of water vis-à-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”.
Even the booze shopkeepers and
their neighboring shops have become innovative, something rarely seen in other
places. For the first time, I found a shop, specialising in selling “drinking
accessories”. This was located next to a busy shop selling all sorts of whisky,
beer, wine, vodka, rum, brandy and what not. Curiosity got better of me and I
examined the shop selling “drinking accessories”. The shop had a list of all the
“accessories” used for drinking — soda, ice cube, plastic glasses, peanuts,
mixtures, cold drinks of all variety, bottled water, even cigarette for those
who smoke while drinking.
The shop next to it was selling
another drinking accessory, widely used in this part of the country — tandoori
kukkad (chicken) and all its variants like Afghani chicken and the tikkas if
one was careful of the bones while gulping liquor. So the list of “drinking
accessories” was complete. Booze lovers, some of them fresh from their office
or shop going to have their first drink of the evening and others in different
levels of intoxication, were coming and purchasing the drink and the
“accessories”.
There was a business for everyone
associated with the drinks and selling the actual stuff and the accessories.
The guy selling readymade clothes and the one selling stationary, were only
watching with envy the business generated by their neighbour.
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 gauge 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. As liquor and
popular culture go together in this part of the country, I was reminded of the
senior Bachchan’s (Harivanshrai) immortal Madhushala.
Ek barsh me ek baar hi jagti holi ki jwala, ek baar hi lagti baaji
jalti deepo ki maala, duniyawalo 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. (April 13, 2015 )
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