Drink no evil, sing no evil

Over the last few days, even as a noxious smog blanketed North India and news cycles, a few unusual statements triggered some thoughts on India’s collective attitude to booze. The first was the Telangana government’s notice to singer Diljit Dosanjh asking him not to sing songs that promoted alcohol, drugs and violence. Soon after, Sudhir Chaudhury, that great public intellectual of our times, who has mastered the dark art of peddling fake news laced with communal overtones, trained his guns on Dosanjh. In one of his nightly broadcasts, Chaudhury dished out an argument often made by frustrated RWA uncles on WhatsApp groups: that in the name of “creative freedom” singers like Dosanjh create songs that promote booze, drugs and violence. That there was no “system” to stop them from doing so; in other words, there was nobody to censor them.

Expectedly, Dosanjh responded to both these statements like only he can (see this and this) but this whole kerfuffle triggered a few stray thoughts on alcohol, artistes, the regulation of the liquor India and our own attitude towards booze.

1. As far as our political class is concerned, their attitude to liquor is perhaps the most duplicitous of all. They will routinely talk about how bad alcohol is, how artistes shouldn’t promote drinking and how it’s not “part of Indian culture”. Yet, they have no problem regulating its sales and earning truckloads of money from it. For instance, the Delhi government earned over Rs 400 crores from liquor sales in the few weeks leading up to Diwali. It’s time that we call this behaviour out for what it is – plain hypocritical and regressive.

2. But can you blame politicians? After all, in large parts of urban India drinking is still seen as A Very Bad Thing – even in the year 2024. In my limited experience, these opponents to alcohol fall in two broad categories. First, those who think that drinking is alien/offensive/incompatible with Indian culture (not true). Second, those who think if a person admits to drinking, he/she routinely wipes out multiple bottles of whisky and then does unspeakable things to himself/herself and those around them. In the eyes of both these sets of people, someone who doesn’t drink is morally superior and more virtuous to others who do. The reality is that things aren’t as black-and-white as people make them out to be. Many people – myself included – are not heavy drinkers. They’ll just enjoy a glass or two in the company of friends/family, feel a little relaxed/happy and be done with it. It’s called social or even occasional drinking and, if it stays just that, I think it’s perfectly acceptable. About time people stopped frowning upon us.

3. Finally, it’s pointless telling artistes of any kind what they should create and what they shouldn’t. Not only does it smack of censorship, such a move also runs the risk of pushing us into the sphere of denial. Art only reflects contemporary socio-political discourse. So if there is alcohol and drug abuse, violence and crime in society, it will find its way into a song, a movie, a play, a painting, a book or a sculpture. Most importantly, if someone wants to have a drink, he will do it anyway. Whether or not Diljit Dosanjh sings Patiala Peg is immaterial. The truth is that people drink. They have done so in the past, they do so now and they will continue doing so in future. Some are heavy drinkers and alcohol abusers – never a good idea – while others are social drinkers. It is high time that our elected representatives understood these nuances and framed more sensible policies. Those will be far more effective in curbing alcohol abuse than issuing notices to and heaping scorn on artistes like Diljit Dosanjh.

   Shoutout

   A couple of weeks ago, the good folks who make Pistols Agavepura invited a bunch of media people to the newly renovated PCO bar in Delhi to celebrate the return of Reposado, one of their variants, in the city. We tasted all five of their expressions after which mixologists from five of Delhi’s top bars treated us to their signature cocktails, at a pop-up in PCO’s basement area. I had the much-talked-about picanté from Lair and, yeah, it was worth the hype. Much fun was had.

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