Cinderella hour

Cinderella hour
Deccan Herald

Nightlife in the City has been severely curbed with the rule that all pubs and clubs close down by 11:30 pm, Metrolife does a reality check.

The veneer on the wooden floor is wearing off by the rub of the sofas and chairs, and the DJ’s console remains as if by default. The floor that not long ago throbbed under the heels of people who danced, is now hidden under the bulk of furniture. The club, funk and hip hop music has mellowed down to retro and lounge.

The government order that banned live music and dance in public places like restaurants and pubs has turned Bangalore’s high energy night life music into a dirge.

The law ‘Licensing and Controlling of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005,’ originally introduced to curb unregulated growth of ‘live-band joints’, has now forced the shutters down on night life here. It came into force on June 24 and sharpened the incisor of moral policing to such an extent that two weeks ago when an internationally acclaimed Indian director winding up dinner at Taika had a cop whistling at him literally shooing him off!

“It was a little over 11.30 pm and we have to be out by that time otherwise we have a case booked against us,” says Amardipta Biswas, owner of Taika and Cosmo Village.

Owners have been hit hard. “We didn’t invest in crores to make a loss eventually. Our sales have gone down by 50 per cent. The other metros have their places running till 1 am. Why has Bangalore been singled out,” rues Yogesh More, of Athena at the Leela Galleria.

“People hardly come out and are not willing to pay the cover charges for an hour or 45 minutes. They don’t leave their homes by 9 pm and it takes at least an hour to travel from Airport Road to M G Road. By the time they reach our place it is already past 10 pm,” explains Ananth Narayan of Tuscan Verve, fashion store and lounge bar.

A city with a “healthy” night life is now being tucked into bed at 11.30 pm. “That’s ironic. Because with its IT culture that put Bangalore on the world map, the powers that be should realise that people with long working hours need some time to chill. I can’t understand why a law abiding, tax paying person can’t dance,” RJ Rohit Barker says.

The DJs too have much to complain. “I am not playing in Bangalore anymore. You can be booked for dancing or playing live music. We have lost our livelihood,” says DJ Ivan. “The other day a cop asked us to play sober, classical music in the lounge bars,” says Amardipta. “We have covered the dance floor with furniture because it is difficult to control people from dancing,” chips in Rajanna of Spinn.

The members of the newly-formed Bangalore Resto-Lounge Bar and Discotheque Owners Association hope that the government will soon “differentiate between places where women are paid to dance and those where taxpayers dance.”

The rift widens with the latest controversy on the photo of a male guest at a party at The Park in Chennai receiving a kiss from a scantily clad female waitress/performer, in an English daily. It’s another metro, sealed with the same fate. The ante is up and the new buzz is about policing the “ethics” of Gen Next.