IN AUTUMN this year India will follow the flock and introduce a smoking ban very similar to the one holding sway in Blighty.
This won’t mean many pubs close in Bangalore, because there weren’t very many pubs anyway, despite it being the “pub capital” of India. We are always recommended to go to the “Hard Rock Cafe” or “TGI Friday” for a good time, so you can tell the place is really buzzing.
The pubs in Bangalore are really not that wonderful. “Pub World” for example, seems to be populated by middle aged men sharing pitchers of Kingfisher and watching cricket – which is legion. NASA is really off the wall – the people there look like they’re wearing airline uniforms, not astronaut helmets. Once more, this is restricted to middle-aged saddos.
The Bangalore guide – link on the right down a bit, said that the Underground is a really happening place. It’s not. It shut down three years ago, we are informed.
In short, now India is introducing the “no smoking” rule, it seems that Bangalore will be even less the “pub capital of India”. The hacks in the Examiner Bengaluru office tell me you can’t smoke on the railways either, not even if you’re on the roof. But if you slip the guards 10 or 20 bucks – rupees not greenbacks – it could well be overlooked as a misdemeanour.
If you’re convicted of smoking on the trains, you can get six months in jail, maximum. Golly, ciggie smoking is a dangerous habit, isn’t it? ♦
