Delhi, Tabula Rasa It?s bang in the middle of the workweek on a Wednesday night and Amrita Singh is having a blast. The 27-year old works as an associate with one of the country?s top four management consultancies and has a meeting scheduled at 11 the next day. ?Wednesday nights are great to hang out with one?s women friends. There are a number of joints hosting ladies nights and offer free drinks. We do wrap up a little early though ? around 12.30-1 am so that one can get to office on Thursday. We think of it as a mid-week charge to one?s work-weary batteries,? she says.
Chennai, Park Sheraton The hotel?s quiet bar, Westminster, is full of people enjoying a leisurely drink, or having an informal business conversation. Says Avinash Deshmukh, Food and Beverage Manager, ITC Hotel Park Sheraton & Towers, ?Business executives and people come in here to talk shop or to enjoy a quiet drink while watching news or a sports event. 6.30pm to 9.30pm is the peak period and we run a full house. We often have to turn people away.?
Kolkata, Park Hotel A young executive sits on a bar stool at the hotel club Roxy, which is aimed at a high-profile clientele between the age group of 25 to 55, and asks for a fruit daiquiri, the highest-selling cocktail at the club. It?s no more plain beer and whisky for Kolkatans. Cocktails like Mojitos, Margaritas and Daiquiris have become all the rage. At Aqua, another club at the same venue, Sangrias and Margaritas are popular while flaming cocktails do a roaring business at Tantra.
Mumbai, Zenzi You?ll find expatriates, professionals and fashionistas hob-knobbing here. The joint has built a reputation for playing no commercial music and definitely not Bollywood. There are other attractions as well. Says Rakhi Sharma, a young BPO executive, ?There is so much happening here, like live music, poetry nights, and for those interested in learning a new dance, there are salsa classes, belly dance classes and even book readings here. What more could one ask for??
The country?s top four metros are abuzz with party hoppers and people looking for a good time. There is a sea change that is going through in the party circuit and more people are joining in. ?Our lounges have people all week long. The traffic does increase over the weekends, but there are no specific days left when people want to party,? says Dhiraj Arora, owner of clubs like Shalom, Laid Back Waters and the recently opened Glo at the Metropolitan in Delhi. A young corporate communication executive for a major FM station in Chennai adds: ?I spend quite a bit on entertainment every month as I find it the best way to catch up with friends and unwind.?
So people are on the lookout for new, more exciting options and as a consequence, one can see a cocktail of innovations in that direction. For one, Fridays and Saturdays remain the peak days for partying across the country but they are not the only days anymore. Wednesday nights have become the reprieve of, as Singh puts it, ?the work-weary executive.? There are smart club owners who have caught on to the Wednesday night party tradition and many offer free drinks to ladies on that day. For instance Tabula Rasa gives each diva stepping in on a midweek day, free daiquiris while Kuki, a club owned by DJ Rummy in Delhi, serves martinis to women all night long on a Wednesday.
There are efforts underway to spread the party culture to Thursday. Some clubs are trying to promote the day as the new way to party, albeit with a difference. Acquifer, a Delhi-based pub for instance has started Karoke nights, where one can sing along with the song of one?s choice and entertain friends. In Mumbai too, clubs like Zenzi are actively promoting weekday activities and people are responding in kind. ?Zenzi is the busiest, like most watering holes, on the weekends, but the best days at Zenzi is the weekdays as there is a select crowd,? says Rakhi Sharma.
As people look at partying all week long, it is lounges that seem to have caught people?s fancy. Soothing music, an array of global cuisine and quality alcohol in the form of diverse cocktails, high-end liquor and wines is what seems to be the popular choice. Some restaurants are also focusing on attracting people with their special cuisine. ?Once you have the people over, it makes sense to entertain them in the same venue,? says Sohrab Sitaram, co-owner, Soulfeed Hospitality, the holding company for Tabula Rasa.
The reason also lies in the economics. Generally, discotheques and plain dancing places attract young people who are in their early 20s. This demographic typically delivers a lesser cover per table. ?The feel of a dancing place comes from space and that costs a lot too,? says Sitaram. One then needs to have deep pockets and a larger crowd to cover the same. It is also this age group that is the more troublesome to manage. They tend to party in large groups and can end up fighting.
Lounges typically attract a slightly older age group that is looking at a more relaxed evening. It is also this segment that spends more. ?People who spend this kind of money also need pampering and luxury. It is difficult to provide the same in very crowded places,? says Sitaram. However, he also expects the scenario to change in the near future. ?All these lounges are looking at attracting the same people, so the competition is set to get tougher.? he adds.
There is a limited but growing market for alternate and live music in India as well. In the West, there are special clubs for salsa, jazz, rock and other forms. There are clubs where people go to hang lose and dance the night away and there are clubs where one goes to lounge, chill and have a conversation. In India, the present emphasis seems to be on the lounge experience, but all that is expected to change in the next year or two. ?I thinks you will see the party environment completely changing once the VIP clubs (where entry is through membership) and the investment in clubs grows. There will be such places in India too and their market is set to boom,? says Sitaram. So for the Indian party animal, it is just the beginning of good times. Watch this space for the rocking ride ahead.
?With inputs from Sulekha Nair from Mumbai, Shyamala S from Chennai and Rohit Khanna from Kolkata