Dance of the moral brigade

Dance of the moral brigade
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The city, known for its bars, dance floors and liberal ambience, is fast losing its cosmopolitan flavour. The police and excise departments have virtually banned dancing in Bangalore, bringing its nightlife to a halt.
In December 2005, the state home department asked livebands, cabaret and discotheques to apply for fresh licences within six months. In the process, livebands were particularly hit, as they were unable to meet the
stringent conditions demanded for the new licences.
In this climate of crackdown, the state excise department got into the act as well. They invoked an old set of rules, the Karnataka Excise Licence General Conditions Rules 1967. Rule 11 states that no dancing, no get-togethers and feasts shall be allowed on the premises. This order affected nightlife in the city across the board.
“As per the rules, we cannot allow dancing where liquor is served. The rules permit us to arrest the bar owner where dancing takes place. However, customers can be spared,’’ said a senior excise officer.
Following this sweeping order, sleuths of the Excise Intelligence Bureau aided three five-star hotels on Airport Road, Residency Road and M G Road last month for allowing dancing.
If dancing and drinking are acceptable social practices all over the world, why should Bangalore of all places be different, wonder the city’s celebrities, youth and hoteliers.
Hotels said that in so many years, they had never witnessed untoward incidents in the wake of dancing with a drink or two.
Says fashion designer Manoviraj Khosla, “Dancing is a perfectly healthy thing to do. It’s also a great stressbuster.”
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Bangalore, arguably India’s most modern city, doesn’t deserve this. A city throbbing with the energy of its young, cannot be denied permission to dance.
Whatever be the ambiguity about the Government Order, the rationale behind the curbs on dancing at discotheques is beyond comprehension. It’s high time the police and the excise department allowed Bangaloreans to shake a leg.
Dancing, after all, is healthy entertainment. Already, the city has an indifferent nightlife with the ban on livebands and Cinderella hours at pubs and bars.
Early this month, the Karnataka High Court had directed the police to reconsider applications of liveband operators and artistes, observing: “It is only when something is restricted, the craving for it increases.”
Not long ago, Delhi extended the closing time for restaurants and bars. Even shopping malls there are open till 11 pm.