Author: Sachin Parashar
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 30, 2010
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Winds-of-change-blow-away-Bihars-fear-factor/articleshow/6839621.cms
A puff of smoke let out by Madhuri Singh (name
changed) in the plush Kapil Dev's Eleven's bar on Patna's Fraser Road might
be the most visible sign of winds of change sweeping Bihar, even more than
the roads which chief minister Nitish Kumar has famously rebuilt during his
tenure. In that puff of smoke, Madhuri, who is still in college, has chosen
to blow away Bihar's once ubiquitous fear factor, emanating from lumpens who
salivated at the sight of a jeans-claid girl.
She orders vodka as she speaks about how Patna,
the butt of many unsavoury jokes till recently, has changed for the better.
No wonder, it is now possible for Madhuri not just slip into jeans, but also,
as her friend Anand Amrit puts it, uncork the bubbly. While Madhuri is still
shy of revealing her identity to a journalist, Amrit has no such qualm. He
not just gives his identity - Amrit is a student of NIT, Patna - but credits
Kumar for making this rendezvous possible.
"This would not have been possible till
a few years ago. Nitish has not just made sure that cops are present all over
the place but that they are also accessible," says Amrit, as another
friend accompanying them nods in agreement.
Bartender Pintoo Singh, who is standing close
by, cannot resist interjecting. "Every day we have female students and
women coming in without any male company. But so far there hasn't been a single
incident, where somebody has tried to act fresh with them," he says.
Singh's observation is corroborated by three
students of Patna's Women'sCollege, who seem aghast that anybody should express
surprise over a woman being able to walk into a bar in Patna in this day and
age.
One is even chided for being ignorant. "Patna
is now dying to have a discotheque, but nobody is listening," says one
of them as all three sip their screw drivers. A similar tale plays out at
O2 bar on Exhibition Road. "The business may be fluctuating, but the
profile of customers is changing rapidly. We've now more women and families
frequenting here," says O2 owner Raju Yadav.
As the fear factors recede fast, the state
capital's eateries and watering holes are a barometer for the sweeping change.
Domino's, which set up shop here barely a
few weeks ago, is chock-a-block at 10.45 pm on a Thursday. Yo! China, which
opened an outlet at Bandar Bageecha in 2006, a few months after Kumar came
to power, takes the cake as a classic case study. Manager Pankaj Jha explains
the discernible trend.
"In 2006, we would start packing up at
9.30 pm. Gradually, the situation changed for the better as the present government
took charge. Now, we host families and women daily till 11 pm. The marked
improvement in law and orderallows us to take orders for home delivery till
11 pm," he says.
