PUB HUB

VYAS SIVANAND GOES PUB HOPPING to find out why the pub culture in india’s ‘SILICON CITY’ never seems to fade

Drinking is an age-old habit, evident from the numerous allusions to ‘tipsy’ gods and demons in epics and myths. Alcohol pervades, satisfies and plagues the world. It has been looked upon as a necessary social evil from times immemorial. In the medieval period ‘Alehouses’ were ordinary dwellings where the householder served home-brewed ale and beer. Then came ‘Inns’ which were by contrast purpose-built to accommodate travellers. They needed more bedrooms than the average house and substantial stabling. ‘Taverns’ could sell wine as well as beer. All three were social centres. By the mid-18th century larger alehouses were becoming common, while inns beside the major highways grew in grandeur. The term alehouse was gradually replaced by ‘public house’ over the 18th century. Nowadays you know public houses as pubs.

In India, pubs have become a ubiquitous term in most big cities. But Bangalore, which started the culture, still reigns as the pub city of India. In the early ’90s, it was a city mushrooming rapidly from its traditional past into the future while ushering in an era with a mandatory ‘silicon’ garnish. Businesses flourished. Entertainment had to be redefined to suit the sudden varied tastes. In the midst of all this, pubs and bars struck a chord.

Bangalore has the highest number of bars, pubs and wine shops in the entire country besides the clubs and star hotels serving liquor - there are over 3,000 bars and pubs in Bangalore city itself and it has got the rather kinky sobriquet of Bar’galore. In any popular, crowded pub in the city on a Saturday night, especially during summer, as many as eight to 12 kegs of tap beer is consumed. This is besides the amount of bottled beer consumed - anything between seven to 10 cases. One case contains 12 bottles of 330 or 750 ml each. All put together, on a single night in a popular bar, as much as 400-600 litres of beer are consumed. If one considers the number of bars and pubs in the city, the figure would be astounding. Hard liquor does have its share, but pubs are synonymous with beer.

Older Bangaloreans had no notion of a pub culture, but they had their own options. Bangalore then had many live bands, which were a favourite pass-time. Live bands still exist in small numbers but are almost on the verge of extinction. Sadly the same goes for the minuscule number of discotheques too. Another elite trend is farmhouse parties or private parties. But then one has to be involved with the sect. In effect, the common man finally has to zero down to pubs if you are in Bangalore.

As stated earlier, in the early ’90s, the ingredients were perfect: an upcoming economy, metropolitan crowd, salubrious weather, low crime rates: Bangalore had all the ingredients of a successful pub hub.

But a decade has passed since and a lot seems to have changed. Not the way one would have liked it, and definitely not in a way it was predicted to be.

The climate is great comparatively but many have started complaining, the ‘silicon’ garnish has faded, crime rate has shot up, Bangalore is forced to sleep by 11:30 pm and pubs are coming up every other day. In short, today, Bangalore could easily qualify for being over-hyped. The law on timings has rightly been enforced, albeit with complaints from both pub owners and the partygoers. While most pubs are of the view that their clientele have increased since the early ’90s, it has not benefited them. “Liquor used be much cheaper during the early ’90s, so the overheads used to be much lesser. Consequently pubs used to enjoy huge margins. But now the license fee is high, business volume is also high, the margin is less,” says Maxwell, manager, Urban Edge, one of Bangalore’s trendiest pubs.

Most pubs in Bangalore get a good chunk of the upper-middle class and celebrities, while the young college going crowd and executives still ensure a crowd. With the number of pubs in the city increasing by the day, people have enough choice to explore newer pubs and have the option to turning back to their favourite joints if they find nothing better. For example, a pub named Pecos, which serves only beer and plays country and jazz music, is one of the oldest pubs in city. This pub has had a big list of regulars visiting them since the beginning. “The pub business can only be sustained by capturing the right chord of the customer’s comfort,” says Hari Daniel, manager, Pecos. This strategy has made the pub business a lot more competitive and contemporary with every other outlet trying to offer the latest in entertainment. “Pubs like Black Cadillac and Pub World which are among the oldest pubs in the city and were ruling the market have now lost the old charm. The new breed of pubs which have sprung up since the past two years have taken up a big share from the market of already existing pubs. Pubs like Zero-g, Spinn, Sparks, F-bar etc have come up with spacious interiors and sleek designs catering to an upmarket audience with music amply supplied according to the clientele. It’s all part of the game. Any new pub opens up, some other pub has to die,” says Chander K Baljee, managing director, Baljee Hotels, who owns Royal Orchid, a five-star hotel which houses a Pub named Geoffrey’s.

With the proliferation of pubs, one is left to wonder if there is a market left to cater to a new joint. “It finally boils down to what one can offer to suit varied tastes and the balance that you are able to maintain while doing so with regard to your margins,” says K R Rajanna, partner, Spinn, a chic bar with disco lounge and restaurant.

Most pubs have given a lot of stress on design and the space factor. Happening music is a pre requisite. Presently most pubs have DJs. Hip-Hop and House seem to be the crowd-puller these days. “Until and unless there is variety and adaptation on the part of a pub, it cannot sustain or retain its customers. The main factor to attract crowds is space, music, service and constant promotions. It would have been great if we could give our customers more time to spend with us,” says Maxwell from Urban Edge.