My First Drink !!!

I could really remember very clearly when I had my first drink . it’s because it was done on an very important day in Indian Histroy. Guess What?.


We were on our first ever Educational(??!!) tour on our third semester EEE in ACCET in 1989.
I was one of the very few day scholars at the college and we were treated like a different kind of animals or to put it in other words , we were always treated like “FRUITS”.
May be because everyone else is enjoying their freedom at hostel , we were still struggling to breathe freedom outside our home to do “SUCH” things that any other adult would love to do at this age.

Our first destination was the famous “OOTY” the “Queen of Hills” and the first thing any one would think to do at OOTI is to have a “DRINK”.
So we pledged to have a beer as soon as we land in OOTY , since this would the first opportunity for us to stay away from out homes.

We landed in OOTY and checked in to the Hotel (YMCA) and were waiting eagerly for the night to come.
We very carefully avoided many folks , simple because they may notice that and make fun of this spreading this news.
Myself , Suresh Kumar , Raj kumar and Ravi shankar VB went to the nearest BAR and to our surprise the BAR WAS CLOSED. We thought may be the Shop was on holiday and went out looking for another BAR.
And to the surprise again , the next BAR was also Closed.
We were bewildered but never decided to give up , Remembering that this was our first stay outside home and we should make use of it fully.
We walked a mile away from this place to venture into a new area and to our sadness again the BAR’s in that region were also closed.
You could imagine our state of mind that time. We thought may be GOD was not willing to let us spoil (?) and be remained as “FRUITS” for ever.
Then I pulled up my courage and enquired a “kudi mahan” near the bar about what was the reason for the closure all the Bars.
He stared at all of us and laughed and then came the reply “Today is Gandhi Jayanthi”.
Oh! God. We ,Indians, totally forgot that “Gandhi Jayanthi” is the only day when all the Bars in India would be closed marking the respect for the Great Saint for his fight against “Liquor”.

So what next?.
Give up or ….

We , all four ,looked at each other and were for a moment speechless.
Then some one asked “Is there any other way to get a bottle of Beer?” and that “kudi mahan” answered thet we could go to the back door of the BAR and they might sell it there.,“Thanks to the Indian System” and sure we did it.
Finally we bought a bottle of beer and four of us shared it and of course got some kick out it.

Now you know well , How easy for me to remember the day when I took my first drink. It’s Gandhi Jeyanthi day. October 02nd 1989