Friday, January 30

Bangalore Chief Minister Wants To Ban Pub Culture In Karnataka!

Close on the heels of the heinous attack on women by the Ram Sena morons; our very own Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has decried the ‘pub culture’ saying, "We will not allow pub culture in Karnataka.” He has also refused to ban the morons, blaming dirty politics.

Dear Mr. Chief Minister, how about banning the following as they too are not part of our culture:
  • Ban cell phones and revert to the good old Post Office system.
  • Ban transportation (including buses, cars, two wheelers, metros, aero planes and trains) and use bullock carts.
  • Ban shopping centers and malls and depend on Government’s ration shops for our needs.
  • Ban all clothing brands and make ‘khadi’ the official dress code for Karnataka.
  • Ban all kinds of sports except kho-ko, hockey, wrestling and kabbadi.
  • Ban pucca houses and start living in huts.
  • Ban hospitals and depend on ayurveda and witch medicine.
  • Ban television, computers, play stations, music players, film theaters’ and every conceivable form of entertainment and immerse ourselves in folk songs, Yakshagana and Byalatta.
  • How about making farming compulsory for everyone in Karnataka, so that there will be no more working in the call centers, BPO’s and other industries.
Ohh…did I forget? How about banning the political system and revert back to the good old system of Kings and Kingdoms. Are you willing to give up your seat Mr. Chief Minister? Or will you play coy and pass the buck to the next government, cause there is no way you will be re-elected.

I am pretty certain that you will think about banning a lot more things other than those listed above.

Bangalore has been renowned as: The Garden City, The Ham Radio Capital of India, Pub Capital of India and the feather in the cap “IT and BT Capital of India.”

We do not want dirty politics/politicians, moral brigades, corrupt government officials, pollution, encroachment of lakes and cutting down of trees. Can you ban any one of these Mr. CM? If you do, you will be in contention for the Nobel Prize!

Save Bangalore.


17 comments:

  1. Hi Rocksta, the famous “pub culture” of Bangalore seems to have a lot of scary fallouts.

    A study taken up by the Psychiatry De-addiction Unit of Nimhans in 2003 revealed that an increasing number of young women in Bangalore may be heading towards the peril of alcoholism, starting as young as 15 or 16. The young women who took the survey cited Stress, peer pressure, and loneliness are the most common reasons for their drinking… Psychiatrists say these are also the reasons which go into the making of an alcoholic.

    Bangalore has the highest number of bars, pubs and wine shops in the entire country which has earned it the monikers “Beer capital” and “pub city”.

    In any popular, crowded pub in the city on a Saturday night, especially during summer, as much as 400-600 litres of beer are consumed. If one considers the number of bars and pubs in the city, the figure would be astounding. One figure puts the number at 200 and this does not include the hotels which serve liquor.

    The growth in the pub culture began in the early 90s with the opening up of the economy and subsequent higher income levels, a metropolitan crowd, an increasing in the youth immigrant population as a result of the Software industry, salubrious weather and low crime rates. “Pubbing ” was the natural choice for young people with no relatives in Bangalore and few friends ( mostly from other states) a lot of money to spend . This was an easy way to meet people as well as relaxing after a long hard week. Over the years it has become an inevitable part of youth life style rather than being one of the avenues for diversion. For the young, Pubs are the destination if it is weekend time. A recent newspaper report revealed that many young people admitted to starting Mondays with a hangover. It is worrisome to think of the effects on their health when this becomes a regular habit. As the frequency of drinking increases, the amount consumed also goes up. Even those who are not inclined are drawn into it through peer pressure and for fear of being left out. There is an increase in the number of women and young girls drinking. Although there are rules about the permissible age for being admitted into pubs, enforcement leaves much to be desired. Although most of the pub frequenters are not seriously affected by the expenses involved, there are a few for whom it burns a huge hole in their pockets. In the recent years there has been an increase in the crime rates too around the late evenings and on weekends.

    It is evident why one cannot hope for any official intervention in curbing the menace - it is the highest source of revenue for the state’s coffers and many of the pubs and bars are owned by people in power or close to them. There is money in the licensing rackets too.

    Any change has to come through social action.

    Healthier forms of entertainment need to be considered and promoted vigorously so the youth have alternative avenues to unwind. May be revival of the live bands which were a rage at one time or varied cultural activities of the variety promoted by the Alliance francaise, Bangalore or other youthful forms of entertainment could help in weaning young people from the addiction to pubs. It is such a waste to allow so much of youth energy to be thrown away in intoxication, inaction and exposing the system to alcohol- induced ailments. The common perception is that a few mugs on the weekend do not translate to alcoholism. But the effects of prolonged consumption will slowly take over the system and habits become evident once they have crossed the safety line. Before one is aware, the line has been crossed from social drinking to habitual consumption. Let the young not be forced into this choice for want of alternative sources of healthy entertainment. I think youth organizations and corporates which gain so much through this youth energy should actively explore alternative sources of cultural entertainment.

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  2. Karnataka chief minister (CM) says his government will not allow pub culture in Bangalore. He says it is against Indian culture. Drink at home, says CM. So does the Rajasthan CM. This is the greatest joke of the century. When did these people become the guardians of morality in India? So what is the chief minister’s role? The CM has to uphold the culture of India, which seems to be his main duty. They don’t even seem to know what culture is. Culture is giving respect to others. Does the so called Indian culture allow violence against women? He says it's ok to drink at home. Is he saying that parents and children drinking at home is Indian culture?

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  3. The government’s next move will be to say that women should not work as they had not done so before. That’s also westernization. They would soon stop couples in motorbikes to prevent women from traveling with “unrelated” men. This might also be against the so called Indian culture. They will be pushed from their bikes and beaten. You might soon get to see these on television. I am sure they would also love to bring a dress code like the Taliban. Now you know where we are headed. The Indian Taliban will say the rhetoric, “they are like our sisters, we only want to protect them.”

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  4. I remember an incident, where the Karnataka police showed their sense of duty. I was in the park with my husband and son, who was a toddler then. There was another couple in a bench on the opposite side. The police came and asked them to get into the police jeep. They pleaded with the police saying they were only talking. But the police did not budge. It was barely 6 pm. We were spared because the child was proof of our marriage!

    Is this part of a policeman’s duty? There is so much for them to do, rather they do not do. Bangalore would be a much better place if they concentrated on their duty instead of looking at something absolutely needless. May be their job is not as interesting as chasing women.

    But then what choice do we have? Well, keep yourself glued to the telly as the drama unfolds. We can only hope it wont be us!

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  5. It was a disturbing sight—girls frantically running out of the pub chased by the self proclaimed moral police. They were held by their hair and beaten. The videos were being shown repeatedly.

    I was thinking about the kind of men who would treat a woman like that. A normal person cannot do that, even in the case of an inflated sense of morality. They were perhaps eying girls who wear modern dresses and behave in a way they cannot digest. They would have felt that these girls were out of their “reach”. The attack was a way of being superior to them. It gave them a false sense of superiority.

    Talking about morality, there exist men who would visit whorehouses at night and become moral police during the day. Look at the men arrested. They look like seasoned criminals, who wouldn’t lose an opportunity to molest a woman.

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  6. Indian constitution does not have any clauses differentiating moral codes for men and women. According to our moral police, men can go to pub, wear shots, and behave in any way they want. This is also westernization. Why are they not policing them?

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  7. What exactly is morality and when did morality surface? The current ideal of Bhartiya naari (Indian woman) is perhaps a recent one. A couple of generations back, women belonging to lower castes in my home state were not allowed to cover their upper body. Even if they covered they were expected to remove them when an upper caste man came across.

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  8. What happened to the people who molested a newly wed on New Year’s eve in Delhi? Perhaps it is forgotten. The culprits should ideally receive punishment, which will deter anyone planning to follow their footsteps. The incident should not be politicized. Instead each of the accused should be tried and punished. Relating them to any party simply dilutes the crime. The act should be seen as molestation. Nothing less nothing more. Remember, such incidents dont always happen to others.

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  9. PUB-lic might not like it …. BJP is going to lose all its seats from Bengaluru next elections

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  10. I wonder if tomorrow ban is imposed on Coffee shops like CCD and food shops like KFC and Mc Donalds, saying those are promoting Western culture and the places of romance of young guys and girls

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  11. Culture is always evolving. Culture changes in time. The culture of India or any part of the world for that matter has not been made in one fine day and remain static after that . Culture is a synthesis of various ideas , thoughts , changes that happen as the society thrives. If a culture is static with no changes , they would eventually die off. So what culture are this self styled moral brigades vouching for ?

    Definitely its not the culture of Hindu to beat women. So who will teach this basic culture to the those guys who beat those girls in Mangalore Pub ?

    If the CM thinks Pub culture is not our culture , why not he come with a whole list of what is acceptable culture and not in his poll plank and then seek the people’s mandate in the upcomming election ? Will he ?

    Will the CM of Rajasthan dare to pull down all the malls ? Or will he appoint a moral police department to restrain PDA’s ? Will he ? Will he openly mention it in the party manifest in the upcomming election ? I bet he would be removed as CM by the party high command , if he dares to do so.

    What we need is not someone to moral police us . We need regulatory authorities to see that no under aged is entertained inside Pubs . What we need is regulatory authorities to make sure no one drinks and drives and causes death under wheels. What we need is someone to guide and not dictate.

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  12. A friend of mine had termed Bengaluru as BAN-Galore …. i guess he was right … I have heard that there is a decibel limit in Djs too in Bengaluru

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  13. Thank you all for your comments.

    @ Vasu

    Nice comment. I agree that there should be healthier alternatives for entertainment and they should be promoted vigoursly. But let me reiterate this point again. Do not prejudice yourself against certain things which you don't like, to such an extent that you start forcing others to follow your view.

    I hate smokers' does not mean that I ban cigarettes.

    Such stupid measures and stands become the fore-bearers of Anarchy.

    ReplyDelete
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