The News About Booze

Alcohol is scarce in Tamil Nadu. It is a stigmatized substance that some consider to be a drug on par with highly addictive narcotics. Sarah, an American also studying at the University of Madras, has told me that a substantial portion of her Psycology of Addiction class centers on alcohol. Indian perceptions of alcohol, or at least Tamil ones, are largely negative. Men who drink are often abusive to their families and have addictions that can prevent them from providing for their families as well. And although I am know that not all men who drink are abusive, this certainly seems to be the perception of many Hindus as well as the entertainment industry.

 

There isn’t a drinking culture here and I feel that because of this, addictions are common. Young men and women aren’t allowed to learn their limits, to socialize with each other. Any newspaper you read will have several Alcoholic Anonymous notices in it. Drinking is something that only men do. Bars are not friendly places, they are dark, often with loud music even when you are the only customer and it is 5.30 pm, and they are usually tucked away from the street. In the city of Chennai, bars are only allowed in hotels and alcohol can only be purchased in equally sketchy government regulated “Wine Shops.”

Although this is a late breaking addition to this post, I'd like to add that if you look on the labels of beer bottles, you see a small government warning that reads "Drinking ruins country, family, and life." I think that this really sums up many of the attitudes about alcohol in India.