Amana Fontanella-Khan: It's time for an alternative nightlife scene in Mumbai
"Going out in Phnom Penh is actually loads more fun than here," she said, arguing that the post-conflict Cambodian capital with a population of two million outshines India's 18 million strong entertainment hub when it comes to going out.
While I knew that this aspiring world city is still light years behind cosmopolitan centers like London and New York, this unfavorable comparison to a small Southeast Asian city impressed upon me just how bad things are in Mumbai's nightlife department.
The reason for this shortcoming is not that industrious Mumbaikars don't know how to live it up.
Rather, high entertainment taxes, which have been choking India's liberal coastal city for almost a decade, are largely to blame.
Back in 2000, the notorious chief minister (then revenue minister) Ashok Chavan, who recently resigned over the Adarsh scandal, placed a 50 percent tax on Western music concerts, dance programs, exhibitions and fashion events, negatively affecting the city's nightlife.
In 2003, realizing that they were losing out on money because of fewer gigs, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde cut the tax to 25 percent, offering hope to beleaguered nightclub owners.
Now, Mumbai is facing setbacks once again.
In August, an amended version of the Mumbai Entertainment Tax Act of 1923 was enacted that imposes a one lakh rupee performance tax on clubs that offer live music. The industry, already battling high taxes, stringent regulations and 1:30 a.m. closing time, is now going to find it even harder to meet the demand for a vibrant nightlife.
Many are pushing for legislative changes, but it may take some time before their voices are heard.
Instead of merely waiting for things to change, the city's creative, outgoing individuals should see this as their cue to step in and offer alternatives.
There are plenty of instances in which residents of other cities have created bustling centers of nocturnal activity despite difficult conditions.
Any visitor to the south of Spain will recall seeing plazas full to the brim with students on a botellón --or big bottle-- night, which involves drinking from large bottles of mixed alcoholic beverages bought from home.
The tradition, which is now iconic of Spanish youth culture, started during the 1980s in Andalusia when workers boycotted bars due to prohibitively priced drinks. Not wanting to stay at home, they flocked to outdoor spaces with a botellón at hand, and spent evenings with friends at very little cost.
Nearer to home, party people have also found creative ways of getting around cumbersome restrictions.
In Goa, where noise pollution laws require open-air parties to wind-down by 10 p.m., party organizers have introduced so-called 'Silent Noise parties,' in which clubbers dance with headphones on until the crack of dawn. Despite being radically different to accepted notions of what partying is (it's silent, for one) the events have been a success.
When Mumbai, which has a younger population than most world cities, finds inventive ways to foster its own party culture, there will be two major positive outcomes.
The first, is that we will begin to see the rise of an alternative (in the non-mainstream, non-commercial sense) night scene that is not reliant on corporate sponsors or big chains, as is largely the case now.
This will be engendered by young people who have taken ownership over the important social ritual of collective song and dance and who have learned to reclaim non-traditional party places outside the home, such as industrial and other outdoor spaces.
When this happens, going out in Mumbai will not have to be a pre-packed experience with all of the annoyances that go with it: long cues in front of clubs, concerns over wearing the right shoes and strained wallets.
Instead, it will be a collective effort that has the potential to be spontaneous, memorable and surprising.
Other parties have been thrown in warehouses, airplane hangars and abandoned castles.
There is no reason why Mumbai couldn't offer the same kind of unique soirees to its young at heart.
Some will read this and think that worrying about parties in a city with so much poverty and suffering is inappropriate. They will feel that it smacks of indulging the hedonistic whims of people with a high disposable income.
Similar objections can be made about most cultural pursuits -- yes, partying is an important part of culture -- be they art, sport or music.
I am concerned about the social problems of this city, but I don't think they are solved by abstaining from enjoyment.
Furthermore, I think that a vibrant nightlife, particularly one that is alternative in nature, has social benefits.
From my experience, when people make it a point to celebrate marginalized places, music and forms of fashion, that spirit tends to extend itself towards people and issues that also inhabit the margins.
Also, when young people learn to mobilize others for nights out, many of the skills they develop are useful for organizing political rallies and marches, should they be required, and gives them a ready-formed community to involve in such efforts.
The second benefit, is that if we succeed in creating a nightlife ecosystem that is outside of the established entertainment infrastructure, local government will have an incentive to bring the youth back into the formal clubs and bars of the city through lower taxes and eased regulations.
This vision requires will and commitment on the part of the city's youth to make it happen. If we succeed, however, this city "Maximum City" will take one step closer toward living up to its new name.
