New Year Revelry

New Year’s Eve across the country saw people partying harder this year than in years past, making signifi cantly larger dents in their wallets. In Delhi, the government collected Rs. 160 crore from liquor sales in December, up 13.2 percent from Rs. 128 crore in 2008. F Bar in Delhi hosted 1,500 carousers (up from 1,100 the year before); this with entrance at Rs. 10,000 per couple! Mumbai’s coolest hangouts also were at full capacity.

At the Dome, revelers paid for entrance, and bought drinks not included in the package (mostly single malts). Smaller bars and wine shops saw business almost 100 percent above average.

In Bangalore’s elite hotels, people were not mindful of their wallets. Th e big indulgences (via the Oberoi): Foreign red wines, Christmas special house mulled wine, and Bailley’s. It isn’t every day you see the country shell out their salary on getting plastered. But it says it like nothing else: We’re getting out of the woods. Cheers!

Image: Vidyanand Kamat

Research: Rohin Dharmakumar, K.P. Narayana Kumar, Ashish K. Mishra, Elizabeth Flock & Nilofer D’Souza