Club/Disco goers in Mumbai- Female seeks advise

Gini

I have been searching for threads on clubbing or discos, but I have only found info on where to go and cover charges. Dancing is one of my favorite activities and I am used to the club scenes of San Francisco and New York in the states. I am interested in what women where to clubs in India. Is it appropriate for women to dance, drink alcohol, behavior to watch out for, etc. As this will be my first trip to India, please provide some basic advise on this topic.

iyou

There are loads of upscale places that will provide you with the experience you're craving. A good place to get the latest scoop is, naturally, the bombay edition of Time Out. Their website is rarely useful, but FWIW here's the link:

http://www.timeoutmumbai.net/

You can get the print edition at better newsstands throughout the island city.

I just hope you're comfortable mixing with the snobbiest, fanciest members of Indian society. For myself, having been to these kinds of 5-star places a few times, the answer is definitely a huge "NO". And remember, as soon as you step out of the club you'll be back in India, with all its charms and challenges. Good luck!

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machadinha

LOL!

I wouldn't personally think of India as a clubbing destination and head straight for Ibiza or something. If it's what you want it's there though I suppose.

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Auntyji

So the "real" India cannot include clubs and 5-star places? I'm not a big fan of 5-star restaurants myself, but I think everything and everyone has a place in India.

crvlvr

The first timme you go out, dress conservatively and observe how the other songle women act. "Progressiveness" can vary from state to state, and club to club. For example, Spinn in Bangalore was like a club in LA -- the way the women dressed, drank and danced. Cover charges are steep at the more exclusive clubs (be prepared to pay US or even higher rates) in an attempt to keep out the "riffraff" ..

machadinha

You're quite right of course Auntyji, India is all of that and then quite a bit more that we may never find out about and it's all as "real" as it comes.

I just had to laugh as a certain snottiness and fanciness seems far from foreign to that scene. Then again it's not where I hang out at home either, if you go to the touristy/more easily found places here it's not exactly all jovial either.

Not so long ago word had it the Calcuttan scene pretty muched revolved about people inviting each other to their living rooms with Ravi Shankar jamming away and stuff. Wish I'd been there, it's obviously not something that is advertised in the papers.

Auntyji

Wish I'd been there too! Sounds a bit unreal to me, Ravi Shankar in the drawing room.
IMHO, if people all around the world can go to clubs, Indians should be able to do the same in their own country without it being viewed as not part of the "real India" (whatever that is, I am Indian and I cannot define it either).

For example, since I now live in America, is the "real" America in its rural parts or in the clubs in New York....I really cannot say since I have not travelled much here and feel this country is so vast it will take forever to "know" it.

Anyway, back to the topic, have fun Gini, in any clubs you go to!

GoanCanuck

Gini, the clubs and discos in India are quite different from those in the US or Canada.

The nightclubs/discos in India are usually located in 5 star or 4 star hotels unlike here in North America where the clubs are stand alone establishments. As a result the alcoholic drinks in nightclubs in Mumbai are very very expensive. I have paid more for booze in Mumbai then out here in Vancouver.

The cover charges are also very high and almost all these joints have strict rules forbidding stags from entering. Also don't expect to dance the night away until 4am in the morning. The clubs in India close much earlier.

traceyam

What exactly is "conservative" dance club dress for women? Examples, please.

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stormysky

Traceyam,

Here is a good example of a conservative, traditional indian dance dress:

http://www.lsi.upc.edu/~nmodi/madhuri.jpg

Oops!!!1 I think it is your own photo or rather your avtars.

On a more serious note, Tshirt / Jeans would be very conservative in any Disco.
Many girls wear a short t-shirt (dunno if there is someother name for it) that expose the mid riff. All this would be conservative.

You'll also find folks in short skirts, low cut tops etc... but then this would be on adventurous side and could be an invitation for irritation.
Register at times of india (www.timesofindia.com) and read their e-paper. The city editions should have atleast 4 pages of page three news with fotos of clubs and discs etc...
Cheers
sk

Nick-H

I suspect that 'unreal', in the context of this thread, means tourists doing the same stuff that one could be doing at home, or Indian people dressing and acting like a Goodness Gracious Me [UK Asian Comedy program] sketch of trying to be British or American.

So,in that context, I think it is fine to say that this is not the real India.

Of course, India has always absorbed from the rest of the world, but always remained Indian. It is like Gold: you can add lots of other metals to make cheaper alloys, but it still stays gold-colour.

Damn... I've used up my May quota of Indiamike italics and there's two weeks to go.

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phantom

This is quite a humorous thread .... )
1. The nightclubs/discos in India are usually located in 5 star or 4 star hotels unlike here in North America where the clubs are stand alone establishments.
2. What exactly is "conservative" dance club dress for women? Examples, please.
3. Here is a good example of a conservative, traditional indian dance dress:
http://www.lsi.upc.edu/~nmodi/madhuri.jpg (This one is the best... he he he )
4. people inviting each other to their living rooms with Ravi Shankar jamming away and stuff.

ahahahaa

Keep it coming guys..

suryakund

To Auntiji's rhetoric: So the "real" India cannot include clubs and 5-star places?

Well, at the risk of being flamed out of here, I'll venture to say - Not really. Clubs and 5-star places have an unmistakable alien-ness, a sense of being a place from somewhere. That's why you don't see them as ubiquitous as the corner paanwallah, or the samosa-jalebi combo, nor do they have a long background in India. They are a western implant, and one that's still partial to the big/bigger cities and not quite the norm elsewhere. Indians like to dance as much as the next national, but Indian style would be what is witnessed during festivals or weddings more than at a place dedicated to drinking and dancing through the night. Not putting down the club scene, just delineating the difference.

No doubt "everything and everyone has a place in India", but its due to the super-absorptive Indian existance than one that's embraced the club culture as one of its own. I mean the snob that iyou refers to is more likely to happen in a 5star club than in claiming to have tasted the hottest aaloo-tikki around.

docgirl2005

I agree Auntiji. I am tired of hearing that there is only ONE type of India and that if you dont go with that sort of agenda or plan then you are simply not living and experiencing the "REAL India"...I wonder which moron came up with that the first place. I have met many REAL indians in many fancy establishments in India. Some are snobby yes and but many are just charming. It's like any social class of people, some good and some bad.

docgirl2005

I love going clubbing in India, its fun and I feel at home with my people. When I go clubbing here in the States, sometimes I go to desi parties where I find the scene is really cool and chill. But sometimes when I go to Non-Desi/American parties, I feel out of place and am subjected to scrutiny and sometimes even downright discrimination in terms of letting my (well dressed group of attractive professionals) in or not...No thanks, hence I live it up when I am there..and for ME..it is part of my REAL INDIA experience...to each his own..