'Dirty' dancing

So, Mumbai's dance bars are history. Not sure what moral angle it will serve with most of the affected girls saying the only alternative for them is prostitution.

What's even more confounding however is this report in the Indian Express dt Aug 13, 2005: "Don't dance, this is Bangalore".

It was called the ‘Talibanisation of Bangalore’. Dharam Singh’s capital went a step ahead of R.R. Patil’s Mumbai as moral police brought night life in India’s most international city to a grinding halt.

A new law ‘Licensing and Controlling of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005,’ originally introduced to curb the unregulated growth of dance bars/cabarets, or ‘live-band joints’ as they were known in Bangalore, had pulled the shutters on night life in the city.

The law which came into force on June 24, 2005 was seeing owners of not just cabarets but also lounge bars, restaurants and discotheques struggling to meet stringent licensing conditions.

As many as 49 establishments, falling into different brackets, had sought licenses for entertainment under the new rule but none had been granted since the police had not been satisfied with compliance.

So the work-hard, party-hard city was now being tucked into bed by 11:30 pm.

Don't know whether to laugh or cry at this bit:

At restaurants and lounge bars—with or without dance floors—owners these days get into a nervous tizzy even if clients tap their feet or nod too vigourously to the music. Over 150 plainclothed policemen are on the prowl to book anybody, dancer or owner, for dancing without a license.

"You can be arrested for dancing. You also cannot play music that provokes dancing. We have had to put sofas and fill spaces to prevent customers from dancing," says Amardipta Biswas, owner of Taika and Cosmo Village, two of the city’s in-vogue lounge bars and restaurants.

Apparently, night clubs are now playing 'classical music' to ensure patrons are not 'incited' to dance. Bangaloreans - confirm! - is this REALLY true??

What your problem is?
I've never been a party animal - discos aren't quite my scene. But that's my problem. I feel claustrophobic in small spaces populated with sweaty bodies, extra-loud music and smoke.

Besides, I am just not a 'natural' - my body doesn't 'move to the music'. But like I said that is my own predisposition.

There are tons of people who like to let their hair down on a Saturday night - and they should be free to do so. Yet this is what Deputy Commissioner of Police (admn) B Shivakumar had to say, "The new law is for the good of the people. Why should people stay out late and spoil their own health..."

Shivakumar is free to police his own sons and daughters - not all of Bangalore city!

As long as the patrons at nightclubs are over 18 or 21 or whatever the prescribed legal age where is the problem?

We can choose to stay up late.

We can choose to dance.

We can choose to consume alcohol.

Whether in a nightclub or in the privacy of our homes... None of these activities are illegal!

These sometimes silly, sometimes befuddling, sometimes hilarious bans have been appearing and disappearing for more than 10 years in Bangalore. It was not just Mr Shivakumar, there seemed to be something in the entire system that failed to differentiate between fun and sleaze. Live bands were banned in places where liquor was served because the combination apparently encouraged promiscuity! Dancing was banned within city limits for similarly laughable reasons - which led to the proliferation of "dance factories" outside city limits. (No doubt driving 20 miles out of the city to dance beats all promiscuity out of you).

Till the late 80s, Bangaloreans were known for being early to bed and late to rise. Made life easier for the cops too when people stayed at home. I've heard a story of an entire night spent by an individual in the waiting room of a large hospital in Dallas (U.S) and heard scary stories of people attacking each other with knives simply for overtaking (showing off their car speed). These were people with nothing better to do in the daytime and giving a lot of trouble to the cops at night with their aimless visits to "happening places".

Bangalore shouldn't be turned into such a "vice city".

Smoking is unhealthy - so it was banned from movies.

Dancing is not good for social well-being of the society. So what's next?

Dancing banned from movies - My sympathies with Farah Khan, Saroj Khan and Ganesh Hegde.


Apart from the fact that the govt. adds idiotic laws every now and then to a growing list.... how can they apply the law without being subjective...what if the dance girls pose as customers...would they arrest any customer who dances...Which brings us to the question as to what can be considered as dancing..is nodding ones head to the music dancing...where do they draw the line....?

There was some real time job for bouncers too as real mean looking bouncers went around in pubs forcing the junta to sit down as soon as anybody got up to shake a leg.

Stepping into our 63rd year of "independence.." and hence "freedom..", just gives me.. another reason to think if we are actually free in the truest sense of the word.. But i guess, all this is a part of democracy.. atleast it is not like China where recently 36 people were arrested for reading koran in a school..

Normal Bangaloreans, and not the pub-crawling variety, coming out of a movie were surprised to find a place to eat, everything being closed even though it was only just past 11 PM. Police vans would stand outside places which were usually open until 3 AM.

Doesn't make any sense of what the Bangalore police are up to. Another of their schemes is to harass all bikers with pillion riders after 10 PM so as to prevent mugging. Their theory is that muggers also use stolen bikes.

I really don't know where's this country headed. You talk about development, what development. The politicians are sell outs, they kill the very hands that get them the seats. After they get the seats, they do a Dharma Guru act and show what needs to be curbed.

 Instead of addressing the grass root problems our Netas do the wrong things (which they are always accustomed to doing :) ).The government could have very well kept an eye on drug and women traffickers instead of moral policing. Why do we always go wrong????? Can't we take a leaf from many other countries where these measures have successfully been implemented.... ???!!!

Meanwhile every Bollywood film has five numbers where girls and boys are gyrating to music - disco and otherwise... Is dancing so dangerous that it needs to be reduced to a spectator sport? 

till we reach that state.. JAI HO..!!