The liquor shops in the city are sporting a new look, all decked up and well lit as any other MNC retail outlet.
CHANDIGARH: Liquor sale and consumption has acquired a new dimension in Chandigarh. In a dramatically transformed liquor culture, it is no more your local sharaab ka theka (local liquor shop) where customers would be treated shabbily by the cronies of liquor cartels.
The liquor shops in the city are sporting a new look, all decked up and well lit as any other MNC retail outlet, where one can walk around, have a good look at the variety of booze available and pick up one’s choice. The names of retail outlets and bars have also undergone sea changes. At the ‘World of Whiskies’, bar maids are on their toes to help you and at the adjoining ‘Thieves of Whiskies’ well-dressed waiters are in attendance.
At some bars, the staff is even guiding consumers on which drinks goes well with which kind of food and also the manner in which a particular cocktail should be consumed.
While the city is still dotted with thekas, outlets like the Liquor Mall, Winers’ Paradise and The Spirits Corner, with international brands like Alize Liqueur, Taittinger, Golden Label, Guinness Stout and Bordeaux, are steadily drawing customers away. “I have recast my theka as the city seemed to be catching up with international tastes in liquor,” said Charanjit Singh, who has been in the liquor trade for over ten years.
But Arun Kumar, who has entered the trade for the first time in the city, has a different argument. He says the transformation in the liquor culture has come about because the government broke the monopoly of liquor cartels and allowed businessmen from other fields to enter the trade.
“We have entered the business with a taste, unlike the typical liquor cartel guys who would readily compromise on quality and service standards to make big profits,” he added.
“Liquor consumer was always treated with despise in the past. No more. As a result, one finds nearly all major transnational alcohol brands in the city. And many internationally popular brands of whisky and beer have also become available,” says SK Sandhu, Finance Secretary, Chandigarh.
He said many bars in the city have started providing high-end services at the same cost.
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