Aishik Chanda
The shutters started dropping with loud thuds at the ‘Pondy Bazaar’ in Thagaraya Nagar. We looked at our watches which showed the time as 9.30. Shopkeepers of the area started walking towards the nearby government owned TASMAC shop which keeps its shutters open till 10 in the night. The scene in the liquor shop was that of confusion and chaos. The lone employee was trying to fulfil everyone’s want of booze. Most of the customers were either buying local beers like ‘SNG 10000’ , ‘Kalyani Black Label’ or ‘MC rum’. Most of the shopkeepers who buy alcohol are either florists or food joint owners and employees. We enquired the reason why the shopkeepers went straight to the liquor outlets after closing their shops.
Gunasekaran, a food joint owner explained the reason why he drinks. He said, “I work a lot throughout the day from 6 in the morning till 9.30 in the night. As mine is a food joint so people flock here throughout the day. Booze acts as a stress buster for me and relaxes my brain for a couple of hours before I doze off. I drink daily but to a certain limit and my limit is a quarter of MC rum. Earlier my wife used to scoff at me for my habit but now she also understands that I liquor is not a fun item but is a need of mine.”
Another shopkeeper, Senthil Rajan, a florist explained his reason for his consumption of liquor. “The last few weeks have not been very good for my business. I made a loss of Rupees 10000 and I have to look after my family and also pay back debts. If this goes on either I have to quit my business or quit Chennai and go back to Pudukottai”. Looking towards the sky he said, “God only knows about the fate of me and my family”. Thanking him, we left the place with a heavy heart.
Alcohol, for some, acts as a ‘stress buster’ whereas for some as a ‘painkiller’.
Gone with the wind 