The Return Of A Favourite Watering Hole

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

So after all the hullabaloo and the closing down of several bars in the state, wanting to close down the beverage cos that the government itself had opened to sever the tipplers of Kerala, one section wanting to close down of the remaining bars and the threat that the banning of all alcoholic beverages might become a soon threat, things have slowly settled down and the drinkers in Kerala have either curbed down their drinking or still continued as if nothing happened. As for me, considering the fact that I haven’t been drinking for over 1.5 years anyway (except for 5 occasions) my drinking has undergone some change.

For one, I have only gone out to a bar twice to drink and both times I stopped at one beer each. The price of everything has gone up (due to the stupid government increasing the tax for said alcoholic beverages) and hence it isn’t very appealing to me. Also the bar that I went to on both occasions tends to price their wares much higher to keep out the riffraff. Last weekend I had a party that I attended and we drank a lot of beer and the rates were reasonable anyway. I will soon have drinks a little more frequent than usual and start getting some vodka, which I miss a lot, and enjoy a few drinks with friends and relatives.

I also learned last evening that one of my favourite bars, Velocity, which had to close down last year as they lost their license for not being a 3 star hotel rating has reopened – yes -as a bar & wine parlour which they were able to get the license for. The hotel that they are attached to isn’t that great but their food is ok and it is a great place to relax in. So my cousin and I will try and go there very soon and I will post some pics and blog about it as well.

One Close Call

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Write about anything you’d like, but make sure the post includes this sentence: “I thought we’d never come back from that one.”

“I looked up from my book that I was reading at the bus stop to see if the bus towards Willington Street had come and yes – there it was pulling up to the curb. I picked up my bag, put my book inside it and walked up to the door and climbed in. I looked for a free seat somewhere towards the middle of the bus, which is usually where I prefer to sit when I am traveling in a bus. The bus was only bout 1/4th full and so there were plenty of free seats for me to choose from and yes, some in the middle section. I chose one next to the window and sat down, picking up my book from the shoulder bag and started to read once again as the bus left the station.

By the time we passed two stops down the road, the bus began to shake violently as if there was a problem with the engine. Everyone of the passengers were rattled by the shaking but I think most of thought it would pass without incident and that we would continue on our way back in peace. And yes it did stop and the bus started riding smoothly in a couple of minutes. We all went back to whatever we were doing before the rude interruption – me to my book, some to their laptops or mobile devices others to their newspapers or talking to their companion. However it started up again – and this time the shaking of the bus picked up intensity as we were coming down a steep hill! Things wouldn’t go too wrong, would they?

It did, the bus started weaving and swerving as the driver lost control of the wheel and it looked like we were going to crash against another vehicle or hit people on the road or maybe even hit the wall of a building once we reached the ground level. Several of us lost our seating and some fell down on to the floor of the bus as we jerked in our seats. Screams were heard and one young child even cried as it’s mother tried to pacify it. We almost crashed against a large truck but at that time the engine failed and we rolled to a stop as the driver regained control of the bus and stepped on the brakes. It was almost pindrop silence as the bus finally stopped near the side of the road, 2 feet away from a large drop into a ravine. That was close. I thought we’d never come back from that one and I was sure that we’d fall into the ravine or crash badly and perhaps I and some of my passengers and the driver would die in that bus. But we didn’t and we survived in one piece.”

Prompt from the Daily Post at WordPress.com.