Someone call Kevin Bacon

Isn't it true that through six degrees of separation we should at least know someone who knows someone who knows...Kevin Bacon? There is no dancing in Bangalore.

A crackdown on immoral behavior began in December 2005 when the state "home department" required live bands (that the newspaper writes as one word, livebands), cabaret and discotheques to apply for a special license but apparently had difficulty meeting the "stringent conditions demanded for the new licenses." The article in the paper conveniently skips the next two years and jumps to February 2008 saying that the government has now reinstated a law from 1967, the Karnataka Excise License General Conditions Rules. Apparently Rule 11 does not allow dancing where alcohol is served. A senior excise officer states, "The rules permit us to arrest the owner where dancing takes places." The dancers themselves are free to go home and cut footloose. Now, you can imagine in a city that fancies itself as one of, if not the most, cosmopolitan in India, this is an outrage worthy of front page news (and multiple related articles).

One of the articles about the "dancing crisis '08" cites back the long tradition of dancing in the city even when ruled by the British. Even after independence, "DJ Rohit Barker's parents recall that in the '70s people would dance till 5 AM! There were parties, live music, bands and what not!" And now thirty years later, it's like some town in the Bible-belt of America where dancing was outlawed because of the naughty behavior it encourages. Although, no one has really laid out the rationale for the ban so one can only assume that drinking and dancing can lead to what not! You've seen Dirty Dancing...

Not to worry though, in the country that defined non-violent movements as a successful means of protest, the club owners are rising to the challenge and fighting for justice. The Association of Bar Restaurant Pub & Hotels of Bangalore (ABRPHB) has recently formed and adopted as its campaign, "Save Bangalore's Nightlife: Anything in excess is a waste. Be responsible." This article about the ABRPHB, goes on to explain that the law is being interpreted incorrectly. It reads like a bit you might see on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update." The article is mostly a series of quotes from the Association that appears to take itself very seriously. A few of my favorite lines are, "Erroneous interpretations of the law or obsolete laws shall be taken to the highest level for redressal." And, "...we would like to state that we don't come under the Excise Act for illegal dancing and the Amusement Police Act of 2005 as we are neither amusement nor entertainment." Maybe I'm not seeing the severity of the situation but how can you possibly talk about the Amusement Police Act without feeling ridiculous? Perhaps it is a backlash against all of the change and modernization that has hit the city but trying to institute some archaic law against dancing as some morally corrupt practice in the year 2008 is just laughable. This is not a Muslim country and in fact, most Hindu festivals and rituals include some form of dance. But for now, in Bangalore, dancing is dead.

So it seems somewhat ironic that the Hard Rock Cafe just opened its newest chain in our very own Bengaluru. (It is know as the Hard Rock Bengaluru and not Bangalore. Much like the new airport is going to be called Bengaluru International Airport leading some to believe that Bengaluru is finally going to start to stick.) Liam and Vivian invited us to check it out tonight so we will go and enjoy the "light music" that is permitted in restaurants.