After terror, Mumbai's crippled party scene hopping back to normal

The panic button has been hit. This time, after the terror attacks on 13/7, Mumbai has vociferously voiced its frustration with being tagged ‘resilient’. And even though work continues, streets remain busy and life goes on as usual, a sense of fear, desolation and anger has gripped the city.

In such a scenario, you might want to catch up with your buddies for a drink to relax. But try dropping the idea to your mom, and you’re bound get a house arrest warning. And while city bar and club owners are planning to keep business going, they are unsure of the turnout. Alok Aggarwal, owner of Veda, says, “We have seen an immediate effect on our customers. We had two parties, which were cancelled. But Mumbaikars are strong, so I feel that nightlife will be better by next Friday.”

Soumen Halder, bar manager of Gadda da Vida, informs that the bar observed silence the whole night on July 13. “But the attacks have failed to kill the nightlife in Mumbai; we still have a lot of crowd pouring,” he asserts.

Bishnu Das, vice-president of T.G.I.F. agrees, “We don’t believe nightlife should be affected for too long because of Mumbai’s spirit. We are too strong to succumb to such acts of cowardice and will not allow the city life to be affected.”