** Deepavali & Record **

TN achieved a distinct record on this Deepavali day (2007). Usually it would have been for only around 25 crore per day... but on Deepavali, it was 60 crore, ie. more than the double on a single day !! In Chennai alone, it would have been normally around 1.6 crore per day; but on the Depavali day, it was around 4 crore !!

Want to know what I am talking about ???.... Well, its the sale of liquor. Doesnt this show that our "kudi" magangal (citizens) are finding new ways to celebrate Deepavali !!?? Tamil Nadu (TN) Govt has driven out the private operators from the liquor business and does it all by itself with the help of TASMAC outlets throughtout the state. Throughout TN, Govt has around 1700 outlets and in Chennai alone there are around 500 odd outlets that sell liquor. And, the (in)famous crowd in Saravana stores would only be a pale shadow before these outlets on any given day. The change in attitude of people is drastic and visible. More and more educated youths are attracted to this habit. Its a common sight that you can find a lot of bikes every evening near TASMAC shops. Educated/Illiterate, Poor/Rich ... there is no disparity in this. Everyone is taking to liquor. Before 10 or 15 years - we did not have so many shops (proportionate to population); we had a lot of people who considered a visit to liquor shop a sin; celebration and party would only mean a visit to cinema hall followed by a sumptuous food in a nice hotel. Everything has changed. No party/celebration is complete without popping out of bottles.

Its not just Tamil Nadu that is the affected state in India. Surprisingly, Kerala stands first with the largest number of people who are liquor addicts. Lot of help organisations have popped up in Kerala alone to help liquor addicts and their families.

Where are we heading? So much to our chest beating about our culture and pride !! Probably, even Gandhi would find it difficult to stem this rising trend. God Bless.

-Gowri