Partying? I think not. Disorderly Drinking, Dancing and Debauchery

Last Thursday night was easily one of the best nights I've had in a while. Indians know how to party- although a bit bizarre and puzzling at times, it was an experience I'll never forget. I really don't think my writing can do justice to the entire experience but I'll try my best.At 11 pm, Nate, Amit (A student at ISB from Delhi) and I met up with about 15 other ISB students at a pub called Ten Downing Street, which just happens to be the address of Tony Blair in England. The bar was trying pretty hard - waiters wore red and green plaid outfits with funny hats, the bar itself resembled a pub (an assortment of Indian beer on Tap) and the interior was a dark mahogany. Truthfully, it really missed the mark. The crowd at the bar was about 75 percent men (women don't tend to go out as much here although that is beginning to change). Since Thursday is karaoke night, the bar was extra crowded. Karaoke is a big attraction and they take it very seriously. Don't ask me why. But honestly, even the ISB guys were itching to sing. After every song, clusters of grown men in their 20s, 30s and even 40s rushed the DJ booth for the chance to sing the next awful American love song from the 80s or early 90s. I could hardly even recognize most of them.Imagine: A group of four of five Indian men, one wearing a Turban with a large beard, another a Kurta, all surrounding the same mic, swaying side to side, holding hands and embracing shoulders, beads of sweat on their brow with eyes closed and heads lifted bellowing, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith with enough conviction to make you believe the world really was coming to an end. As you can imagine, its a funny sight. And not to sound ignorant, but if this was the States, I would have thought I was in a gay bar. After a couple of drinks, even I joined in on the fun - taking the microphone with Sachin, Abishek, Amit to give our rendition of "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles. Despite my initial unease - I even found myself giving it my all.Midnight came. Bars are to close down at midnight in Hyderabad (the city is very traditional - official drinking age: 25). But, the night had only begun. ISB students don't let the govermnent regulation stop them. The party first moved to the parking lot right outside the pub where our friends and some random people gathered and started shouting, singing and dancing for about 15 to 20 minutes. It was completely out of the blue but yet felt so instinctive. No one cared we were in a dingy parking lot and didn't know each other - they just wanted to have fun. The security guards for the lot even came over, linked arms with us and started dancing. After that died down, we all piled into a few cars for a wild ride through the city to Liquid - a more upscale lounge like you might expect to find in NYC - even drinks were expensive. Here, they were playing all the main stream lounge and club music - the crowd's absolute favorite being Akon and Snoop Dogg, "I wanna f*** you." Rap has become very popular over the past three or four years in India and everyone goes crazy for it. At Liquid, our group swelled to about 40 total ISB students (this time there was a considerable number of females). Several of the students knew the club owner and convinced him to stay open until 1 am. I don't think he knew what he bargained for. At Liquid, everyone was really going wild. Rather than partner up or dance in small groups, everyone gathered in a sort of large circle, floating along, linking eyes with one and other for a few seconds to do a quick Punjabi step or two then continue on to the next person. There is a very communal and organic feel to it all. And more often than not, its mostly men dancing closely together staring into each other eyes, very close and often holding hands. So after an hour or so of drinks, dancing and debauchery - the lights came on and the music shut off. Then, Anmul, the party animal of the group erupted into his own rendition of Akon. "I see you looking at me and you already know... I wanna.." The group went wild, joined in and carried on dancing as if the music never stopped. Next, they sung Hotel California, several other mainstream songs and even the Indian National Anthem completely disregarding the owners attempt to usher them out the door. The club owners, not sure exactly how to react, dimmed the lights and resumed the music. This process repeated itself at least three more times until about 2:30 am - music off, lights on, singing begins, dancing never stops... repeat. In general, and even more so when their drunk, Indians are such agreeable people that the club owner just did not want to make us leave. Finally, about 2:45, it was time to go. We very, very slowly made our way to the parking lot where it took us close to half an hour to organize into several cars and head back to campus. Peer pressure is a common tactic that leads to complete inefficiency and lack of urgency. Going along with the theme of agreeability, you commonly here one friend say to another as he tries to leave, "You're my brother, my best friend and you're going to leave the bar now. And leave me here? You aren't having fun with me? You don't want to be friends anymore? What's wrong?" The result, everyone dramatically coerces everyone else into standing around just a bit longer. The inefficiency lasts until the point of complete consensus that it is time to go home and that can take a while. If I wasn't in India, it would have been frustrated. What an experience! Even partying in India is really something else.