Will you drink to that, dad?

Booze, spirit, juice, brew, poison – just a few affectionate names of alcohol – a liquid potion that has a long, interesting history in India. The perception of alcohol has gone through dramatic changes. Times change, so do trends and hence, definitions.

A talk with students around Kolkata reveals a growing pub culture among the youth. According to them, boys and girls experiment with alcohol as early as 16 years of age. Social drinking seems to be a norm with teen groups as well. Drinking is a rite of passage into the 'in' crowd, and most give in to peer-pressure, admit students.

This admission bears a striking similarity to a study conducted by National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. The research claims that the average age of alcohol consumption in India has come down to 19 from 28.

While the youth may have shunned its inhibitions, where do the parents stand? Divided it seems.

"There was a time when parents would practically gasp at the very word. But parents today are different. We are a lot more open about alcohol than our parents were with us," says Ruchi Saha, 45-year-old mother of two.

"My husband and I never made alcohol sound like a taboo. It sends the wrong message. Rather, we educated them on the consequences and how to drink responsibly (if at all)," she continues. "Both my sons are in college now and neither of them is fascinated by alcohol. In fact, they treat it in a mature, calm way." Parents in the same PTA (parent-teacher association) agree. Individuals from different walks of life, they admit to not shying away from drinking even in the presence of their children.

This, of course, does not represent all Indian parents. Digging deeper reveals a complex weave of classes, senses of morality, traditions and new ideas. At one end of the spectrum stands a rural populace and an affluent upper crust, quite bizarrely, mirroring each other in their rejection of inhibitions. One with single malt whiskey or imported wine and the other with country brewed liquor.

In contrast, is the middle class that still adheres to 'traditional' values and concepts of morality. Yet, here too exists a disjoint in ideals. One section, albeit shrinking, comprises of orthodox parents who promote abstinence and the other has liberals, steadily growing in number. The former consider alcohol an evil while the latter, as may be guessed, is product of cosmopolitan ethos and glocalisation. Alcohol is no longer a taboo to them—not something to be hidden from kids. And surprisingly, they are mostly regular city dwellers belonging to the middle class rather than the opulent high society as one might assume.

“Neither me nor my friends belong to the high flying society,” says photographer Tarun Dixit, “Our parents have respectable jobs in the service sector. But none of us are strangers to alcohol. Our parents don’t hide the fact that they drink.” A sentiment shared by many in his generation who suggest parents to keep children informed and aware.

So if alcohol is no longer being hidden from view or consumed after the kids have gone to bed, what’s causing the youth to drink more than ever? The common answer from both sides is ‘alcohol education’. Most Indian parents don’t educate their kids enough about it, allege many. They (parents) don't talk to us about things like responsible drinking, the risks involved and how to say no, complain youngsters.

"Parents usually just say 'no' and 'because I said so' rather than explain rationally,” explains 50-year-old mother, Chandrani Mullick. “The ironic part is many of them drink in front of their kids. The double standards end up confusing children.”

24 year old Arindam, a student of film studies, agrees. "The problem is most kids have a very poor knowledge of alcohol. Many of them tend to drink too much when they get a chance," he says. "I've been through that phase too. The blurry definitions make children treat alcohol like a 'cool' thing."  

Ronnie, an independent film maker says he's noticed 3 groups: the orthodox, the moderates and the liberals. The orthodox, as the name suggests, are parents who teach abstinence in rather dire terms while the liberals allow indulgence in excesses. "These parents don't know where to stop," he says. "They treat drinking as uber-cool and that's what their kids learn."

Moderates, he defines, are parents who know the balance. They are open about the subject and teach responsibility.

While parental strategies will not always be similar, together they point towards an obvious social divide. This in turn may lead one to ponder how the divide came about in the first place. Ancient India certainly did not have issues with drinking. Shiva’s somras and sculptures depicting drinking scenes are evidence enough. Yet somewhere along the way drinking ceased to be considered socially acceptable.

“Transformation,” answers 30 year old Swati Sinha. “We’re in a process of synthesis. A state of flux. A battle between old perceptions and new ideas.” But who wins this battle and what direction the parent-child equation takes is anybody’s guess. And as the wise man says, time reveals all.  


ilovekolkata