No pubs; no bars; no gigs… what’s a weekend without partying and good music for Chennai youngsters who want to chill after a long week and relax with a pint? But that’s exactly what they faced, in the light of the Tamil Nadu by-elections. “Due to the elections happening in RK Nagar, all the clubs were asked to be closed from 5 pm on Thursday, all of Friday and Saturday as well. We are allowed to be open on Sunday and Monday, following which Tuesday will see us shut shop again. It is a major hit in business for us during the weekend,” says Bablu, business manager of The Tapas Bar.
So what is everyone upto? For the party-loving lot, the choice was simple — destination Bengaluru! Says marketing professional Sanam Baruah, “My friends and I really wanted to let our hair down this weekend; so we gave into our impulse, drove to Bengaluru, and went on a pub crawl! It was a lot of fun indeed.”
Parties are no fun without the DJs or pub singers keeping the mood upbeat and getting everyone to sway on the dance floor. So what were our favourite performers doing in the absence of gigs? Varshita Ramesh and a few other regular pub singers, took the time off to attend a Latin-American music workshop at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music. “It was absolutely wonderful to hang out with a bunch of musician friends like Maalavika Manoj, Nadisha Thomas, Kavita Thomas and learn jazz, blues and so on, from some amazing teachers.”
Popular DJs like Karty decided to make the most of the unexpected break and take off with other DJ friends to Kasol and chill! “My friend, DJ Anand was also playing in Delhi, so we flew there to watch him — and then tour beautiful Kasol. We DJs rarely get weekends off as we’re constantly working, so I’m quite psyched about this little getaway !” he grins.
And, those who couldn’t get away from town had no regrets either — they enjoyed the detox weekend catching up on TV shows and going on gaming marathons! Banking professional Sri Charan says, “It was actually a welcome break. I managed to catch the latest GoT episodes and of course, call all my friends over for an intense FIFA tournaments on my PlayStation! No regrets over the pubs being closed, honestly”
