When good triumphs over evil, it usually doesn’t come easy. It demands sacrifices, which most of us grudgingly, willingly or just because our mum said, make during these nine days of Navratras.
While some observe the strict rituals of fasting, surviving on nothing but fruits and fried potato snacks, others of less will power make do by giving up on drinking and eating non-vegetarian food. And as the days pass and patience runs thinner than the film of milk on the idol, plans vegetate and hatch, so the abstainers can let go and once again realise the pleasures of debauchery with a vengeance.
Samira Shah, who not only turns vegetarian and teetotaller twice a year, but also fasts on the first and the last day, can’t actually wait for these nine days to get over. “We start planning the get together from the beginning of Navratras itself. That would be a perfect Dussehra celebration,” she says.
But then not everybody has the same sense of control. Geeta Mathur, who works as a consultant says though she can avoid drinking, it is really impossible to not go out at all. “I have a lot of friends who don’t observe these rules and I have to go meet them, which more often than not happens at bars and pubs. So, while they enjoy their drinks, I sip my orange juice, sometimes just dying for a sip,” she says.
However, it’s not all related to the area of intoxication alone, but applies for those who give up on their favourite food, simply because they are cooked outside home kitchen. Hitesh Chabbra, an executive with an ad agency says he can’t wait to go out and try his favourite cuisines. “Since, all food that we eat must be first offered to the goddess, so I am not allowed to have them. But I am big foodie and love eating Italian, Mexican and Lebanese food. I even have a place picked out, where I will go and eat once Navratras get over.”
Though, the one area most expected to be hit, the bars and pubs is hardly affected.
Das Babu, manager, Lure Bar and Tavern, says that though earlier a lot of people would abstain, but now trends are changing. “I feel that there is almost no difference. While, there are some who observe these fasts, there are also many who carry on doing things normally. So, our clientele is unaffected,” he adds.