At the bus stops are the bystanders waiting for the BMTC bus to cart them home. They push themselves inside the sardine-packed buses that stop grudgingly and move, bent heavily to mark an acute 180 degrees, almost.
Most shops were still open and couples trudged back home with their grocery bags. Where’s the party? Not anywhere between M G Road and Koramangala. No barricades on the outer ring road and no cops in the vicinity. Just another Monday evening for most Bangaloreans as the sun pulled out its last ember streak from the sky and sank beyond the horizon, near the Ulsoor Lake.
7.30 pm: The priests at the Gurudwara near the Lake sang the kirtan and the devotees stepped in after the ritualistic oblation to offer prayers. There wasn’t much of a crowd at the Gurudwara or the Ganpathi Temple at Koramangala where the priest handed out the prasadam after the evening arthi. The St Patrick’s Church was lit up and waiting for the midnight mass. The devout were getting in gradually for the mass.
8.30 pm: The star hotels on M G Road had just about begun warming up. The security was tight. ”Show your passes, please,” they insisted gently as the early party animals started closing in. The check list on the last minute details was being ticked. Music at The Park was picking up notes as the winter night lit a million stars in its crisp black sky.
9.30 pm: The lounge bar on Castle Street was waiting to fill up. The cars began rolling in on the thin road, a country cousin of Brigade Road — which dressed like a bride stood still holding its breath for the night to mature into another year with an extra day, on the calendar of time. The Oberoi had the diners settling down with the Martini, vodka, wine and liqueur.
10.30 pm: The High Grounds has some life on its crease. The Golf Club all lit up for its members to raise the toast of the year, to the new year. The party had yet to begun. At the Taj West End the performance by ‘Les Belles Duval Revue’ mesmerised the audience and the glasses went up with the caviar and the clam and the roast ham and turkey.
11.30 pm: The M G Road was dark and barricaded with cops lined up in their windcheaters and walkie talkies. No vehicles allowed...only emergency services. Where’s the party? People, men, started sneaking in and within minutes, the zero-tolerance road got choked, from neck to girdle to the hips to the bottom.. with people and their passion.
12 midnight: They went up one by one... the firecrackers in the air. The sophisticate cheered hard, kissed and uncorked the champagne.. the wine sparkled into another day... of the nascent year. The party was midway.
