Alcohol in India

Louisa

Hi all,

How big a part does alcohol play in various parts of India?

I´m looking for places/areas in India where alcohol DOESNT feature as a main part of life, or at all.

Are their particular areas in India where people don´t drink alcohol?

If so, where?

Louisahttp://www.indiamike.com/india/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

TimMakins

Have a look at the article 'Alcohol Drinking - A Concern in India?' on this page:

http://www.ceche.org/publications/monitor/vol-5/5-2.htm

As you can see, it mentions that Gujarat is the only state still to have prohibition laws. That doesn't mean that there is no drinking, but it is kept hidden, or people will go over the border into Diu etc to do it.

Generally, there aren't the same number of bars and clubs in India as in Europe. In most towns away from the major metro-areas you can find off-licences, and very seedy bars, but these rarely have much impact on foreign tourists, unless they go looking for it. I guess there is some drinking everywhere except Buddhist monasterys, but it shouldn't really affect you.

Why do you ask? Can you be more specific about your concerns, or what you are trying to avoid?

Tim in Ireland.

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seventies'hippy

Pushkar is alcohol free.

Goa has always had a high incidence of Feni dependent alcoholics. And that was before the Brits arrived,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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greenchutney

brahmin families generally are very very conservative as in being no meat and no alcohol. usually if you would go to temple towns in the south; you will generally find more of the temple going/traditional populations and their families being pretty strict with this policy. absolutely strict!..go to kumbakonam, srirangam, kanchipuram, guruvayoor, tirupati (cities in the deep south) among others..

(are there 'bars' (usually a shed or thatched hut) in these areas....probably..but much much lesser in number compared to the other cities...

the jain communities are the same way!..so whereever the jains are present in a bigger community..in gujarat etc...

Louisa

Tim in Ireland.
Hi Tim, thanks for the info you posted.. it´s interesting

>Why do you ask? Can you be more specific about your concerns, or what >you are trying to avoid?

I suppose I feel the same way about it as spiritual communities do who prohibit the use of it (as well as other substances).. from the perspective of spirituality it has a negative effect... though a spiritual community would probably be able to put it far more eloquently than I ever could.. personally speaking, it turns me off.

Louisa

Louisa

Very useful info, that´s just the type of thing I´m looking for.. thanks!
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jivan

Louisa, if talking from only a spiritual perspective then it isn't as simple as that. You'll find many spiritual communities using it as a tool & is regarded in the same class as one would regard flowers, garland, the holy fire.
As far as personal dislikes are concerned that perfectly o.k.

Louisa

All the spiritual communities I´ve come across prohibit the use of alcohol and other substances. Which spiritual communities do YOU know that use alcohol?
Louisa

jivan

O.k. don't know of any online supplements of this but from whatever I 've seen, experienced so far. Many of the sadhus from nagas/aghoris up north as well as down south (Tamil Nadu) use it as a method of instruction as well as experience. I wouldn't try to elaborate on what the aghoris & nagas as well as the more darker elements As :-
1. it is there is enough myths & thoughts about them. Suffice to say it's an experience.
2. It's not the place to talk of things which we really don't know about.
These are more of the mysterious darker elements of hindu mysticism. Even more of the traditional communities also use it at times & its very dependant on situations & times.
On a more docile note Gurjeff (I think he was an Iranian or Arabian mystic/philosopher) used liquor as a very good tool. For a drunkard for 10-15 days no drinking while somebody who hadn't drunk would 've to drink. This used to be his condition for anybody to become his disciple.
As far as u'r personal dislikes go one can be either way. My only issue was that one cannot paint everything black & white. For what little I know, there's a huge grey which is needed for us to learn & grow.

jyotirmoy

At the Bhairon temple in Delhi devotees routinely offer alcohol. This is also treated as Prasad.
Some tribal communities in Rajasthan burn dead bodies & the ashes are burried in the earth. A rectangular grave like structure is built on it. Belongings like clothes, tools, bidis & a bottle of home brewed alcohol is also burried. An opening is kept through which they believe that spirit can go in & out. On special occasions puja is held & as a custom home brewed booze is poured.
Spirituality is a very wide issue, small things like consuming alcohol meat etc. are irrelevant in this context.

yousaybenares

In Puri I didn't notice any drunkards per se. Usual routine in restaurants was to serve beer in discreet containers and people kept their glass underneath the tables. OTOH someone mentioned to me that if he wanted to get rid of his father-in-law for awhile all he had to do was give him money and the father-in-law would gets himself drunk for a few months. I think drugs are vice of choice over alcohol, at least it seemed so in Puri.

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Nick-H

Louisa, it is quite refreshing to see an alcohol-related post from someone who wants to avoid it! Most of them are more like How can I get my daily fix? posts!

Here in Chennai the expensice hotels will have bars, just like hotels anywhere else, the cheaper ones will not, and the vegetarian places definately will not.

Bars here (I meen the public street bars, not the hotel ones) are government-owned sleezy-looking places where men congregate to drink in the evening. The givernment has just announced that they are to be modernised and made comfortable... ... ...

(you need to check out the smilie in your sig.... it isn't working)

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jivan

another thing when they gujrat has prohibition, in fact been proved time & again that some of the biggest smuggling/rackets have been taking place. Most of the people also go to the border area, drink then drive on the road & come back.
On a similar yet dissimilar note please note that smoking in public places is banned in india although flouted regularly.

TimMakins

So am I correct in thinking that this will be your first trip to India, and you want to avoid any problems you might encounter from others drinking alcohol?

If so, you will find it much easier than anywhere in Europe/USA. Although you could go to the extremes of visiting only special temple-towns or spiritual communities, I am sure that you are unlikely to encounter any drunkenness. Alcohol is not readily consumed in public in India, as it is in other parts of the world, and the number of bars there is very small in comparison, too. Avoid places like Goa and Diu, and certain areas of the major metros and you will hardly be aware of its existence at all. The only case I can think of when you might encounter it by mistake is on some trains, when **very occasionally** you will see a small group of men enjoying an illegal, and generally noisy party: if you are in an adjacent bunk its hard to walk away, but just keep the curtains drawn and go to sleep - you will not be pestered.

Tim in Ireland.

PS - as had been said in other threads, if you are in India during the one day that the Holi Festival is celebrated, stay indoors.

Vasko

Ganja-smoking rastafaris and hindu mystics.

Alcohol (wine) as the blood of Christ (Catholicism, Protestantism).

Peyote and American Indians.

LSD and hallucinogen use starting in the 60's for spiritual enlightenment (Timothy Leary, et al.).

Voodoo priests getting absolutely shit-faced in their rituals...

The list is long (both historically and culture-spesifically).