Frank Okay. Now that’s that is a slight caveat. I’m just a little bit older than you. Not much by about a generation or something like that. But I’m young at heart. So I’m eager to learn and I want to be taken out of my comfort zone. I want to experience something totally different.
Yeah. I trust you that you’re not going to take me and murder me in some dark valley somewhere in Bangalore. Take me out of my comfort zone and what can we do this weekend?
Ritesh Okay. Yeah. So the for the older people we stand proud of our age. So there’s a lot of temples nearby in the city also. They go to the temple, the religious people, they go for hours. They go and meditate there and it feels good for them. And apart from that, there are some art galleries. So they can go. It’s not a very big place, but for a few hours you can go. You can look at the art that is event also. This National Gallery of Modern Art and you see the paintings. Those paintings are created during the people. They wanted to shift from the Western painting and all the things. So they wanted to make a homegrown movement. There was a Swadeshi movement in India. So they wanted to bring their own paintings and the things they wanted to show. So it is there. And so that is a place to go and look at that.
The people who are interested in art, then there is a palace, Bangalore Palace we have. So during the people, they go to see the artifacts, old artifacts and all the things. And there are museums, the people suppose you want to go with kids and want to show. So there is a museum. There is a, what do you call it, Tara Mandal. Tara Mandal is nothing but you wanted to show the universe and everything that will be focused on. I have never been to there, but I went to the museum and there are two or three museums. Then there is a Chitra Kala place. There is a modern and the art, what you call fine arts college. So it is a place where this is a college also, but this is a place where you can find a lot of art. This is not a big place, but they have a small campus. Apart from that, if you love nature, but you want to get those feelings in Bangalore, heart of Bangalore, we have a Banaragata Park. You find 100 years old trees, 150 years old, 200 years old trees. And there is a flower show in that place. So they will make everything with flowers, like the big house type of thing. I have been there once. Then there is a Cubbon Park. So you don’t have to go and do anything. You go and relax. It’s the biggest place in Bangalore. It’s full of trees, park, and in the morning people go to do yoga, do exercise and breathe fresh air in the city. And it is near to the High Court, Vidhansava. And because of that, I think it is preserved. Otherwise, you know, the builders have closed and they have taken the land. But because of the High Court and Vidhansava, it is preserved and everything looks good. So for the people who want to enjoy nature, this they can do. And suppose you, I don’t know, it will be suitable for the people like you, the older people, to go in the morning. We have 30 kilometers from Bangalore, Nandi Hills. So you have to start at 4 or 5. You will reach within one and a half hours or two hours, one and a half hours in the morning, Saturday morning. You can find the sun rising, sunrise, and it is like mist and everything. And people generally for our age people, they go with their girlfriends, friends. They will go in groups. They will start at 4. They will have tea on the way. They will reach. They will enjoy the evening and then they will come back home. So these are the morning plans, evening plans for us. I will say, morning we don’t want to go anywhere. Suppose you want to go on any walks and running, you can go in the park. Morning there is a lot of areas where there is a lot of shops, especially MG Road, Brigade Road. So people, young people, they go, they enjoy looking at the area, people and all. Then there are a lot of pubs are there. You can go on weekends, especially on Saturday.
Frank Okay. So let’s stop at the definition of a pub for a minute. Because when I hear the word pub, I immediately associate that with something typically British, which is sort of a country in the middle of nowhere. And it is a great social meeting point. In fact, if you move to a new area somewhere in the UK, then if you want to get in contact with people, you go to the local pub and you start getting into conversation with people. So that’s the image I have of a pub in the United Kingdom. Here in continental Europe, we have things called Irish pubs. The Irish have been very good at exporting their pubs, which have nothing in common with what is the real thing in Ireland itself, but it’s a good tourist magnet. But the principle remains the same. If you want to meet some expats or some local people, then you go to the Irish pub. What do I do in Bangalore? What is a pub in Bangalore?
Ritesh It’s completely different. It’s for enjoyment. What we do generally, there are two or three kinds of pubs. You go and sit there, have a meal, whatever you want to eat, and you enjoy music. So those are not pubs. That is a dining place. You go, enjoy music, you go with your friends. You can go and meet with people if it is a small place. So Bangalore is a very big place and you don’t go to meet people. You go with people. So some places you enjoy music, and if you are drinking, you are having beer or wine or hard liquor, you can say whiskey or rum or gin. So you can have a little bit. Then people start on the peak of the moment. They will start dancing. Those are small places. Then there is a special pub where you go for dancing, drinking and dancing. So what you do, there is an entry. So if you go with your friend, especially the girl, female friend, so your entry is free. The stack entry is not allowed. You have to pay some money and you go with your stack friends and then you start eating, drinking and dancing. You go till there is a government limit that you can’t open pubs after 12 or 12 o’clock. 12 or 1 o’clock. I don’t remember, but I know that till 2 they will dance. So whenever we go, I go and friends and now I have a stack to stop doing. And so we enjoy till they will stop. And this is the kind of pubs we have in Bangalore. So it depends on where you want to go. Some are the free entry, so you can go and entry is free. Then you order your meals, whatever you want to eat, drink and dance.
FrankOkay. So let’s paint this picture for a minute. Totally hypothetical situation. Let’s assume that I am in Bangalore on a business trip. I am 63 years old. I do not know a single soul in, well, okay, this might skew the picture. I don’t actually know anybody in Bangalore. I’m in my hotel room and I’m thinking, what am I going to do? Well, let’s go out and see what happens and I see a pub. And the first question is, will I actually be able to get into this pub? Will they deny me entry or will they say welcome? And then when I do get into this pub, how do I behave and what can I expect to happen?
Ritesh Yeah. Okay. That answer already says a lot. So you can go. Some of the places like we have to go with shoes, not slippers and all. These are some rules because people are dancing with high heels. People are dancing with heels, so they might hurt you. So be prepared, go with shoes. They will allow you. They look for the age, especially for kids. They will not allow, otherwise they will not look for your age. You are 60 or 25. And see, it depends on the approachable, like, so some people, they are so good in conversation and they have motivation to go and talk with strangers. And this is a skill, right? So you can go in a group and talk and it happens. I have seen people, they go and talk and they come and meet with, talk with you. So especially for young people, I’m saying, and they will talk, enjoy, they will dance, they make a group, they dance and then they live and it depends on your level of comfort and how you approach people. And there is no harm, like you can talk with anyone and you can behave in the sense like, you know that when you are drinking and everything goes little higher, right? So you have to be respectful, I can say, but anything you can just, it depends on the people who are connecting, you are connecting. Then there is some places previously, there used to be, they used to smoke in the same place, but I see nowadays there is a smoking area different. You can go and smoke there, you can drink, you can, so it’s fine. And some of the places they have repetition, they have good repetition that it depends on the type of people they are going there. But generally I see that there is a good vibes, especially young people, you see that you don’t find older people like more than above 45.
Frank I would stand out like a sore thumb, A, I’m European and B, I’m 63. So I mean, there would be like this weirdo in the pub.
Ritesh From your perspective, I see that one guy has got their parents, mother, sisters, and everyone is looking and people are dancing and they are looking, these people are doing these things in Bangalore and they are coming and dancing. I will bring my parents, they will see that these guys are doing these things in Bangalore and all, but these are the close area that you dance and then you come.
Frank Okay, so pub etiquette. Again, I’ve got my English hat on in this, or my British hat on in this scenario. I’ve got to visualize this. Do I sit at a table or do I go to a single 63 year old European male going into a pub? This is the picture. Do I go to the bar and sit or stand at the bar, or do I sit or stand at the table? Question one. And question two, if I somehow get into talking with other people, do I buy them a round of drinks? Like in the UK, everybody buys a round of drinks for everybody. So if there are five people, you might end up buying one round for five people and the other four buy you a drink. Do you have that system there, or what’s the etiquette? Again, I need to learn because maybe I will be in a pub in Bangalore sometime in my future.
Ritesh So I have never been in such situation. What we do, we go in the group, right? My friends, it’s young people, so someone pays and at the end we just divide like so much we pay. There is no such question that if you are there and you are talking and you went and then you have to buy people, they don’t do in India. I have never seen that someone is buying for everyone. Maybe someone does, but I have never seen. If you are going, you have your cup or you have glass, you are drinking, then you start talking with them. Okay, fine. Suppose you want to refill or you want to get something else, go on the place and take it and come and talk with them because I don’t know, like price dynamics and amount and all the things. So people, they don’t buy for everyone. Suppose you are talking with five people and you start buying for everyone, it’s not required, right? Suppose you are in a group or you are with friends, you call everyone and you call them, then you can buy. It’s your choice, right? But for us as young generation people who are running, we divide our money, like someone pays or sometimes someone gives treat, then fine. So someone called for their birthday and also that’s fine.
Frank Okay, so here’s a difference. I suppose when you go out with your friends, do you run a tab, which means that you order drinks as and when and then you pay at the end when you all want to leave? Because this is the big difference. In the UK, you pay for your drinks immediately, which is how this buying a round, because if, let’s say, you and some of your friends and I are in a pub in the UK, I will say, can I get you guys a drink? And then I will go to the bar, order the drink and pay for that and then everybody gets their drink. And then you would do the same. Can I get you a drink? And then you would go to the bar, buy the drinks, pay for the drinks, bring back and then the other people. So everyone buys a round for each one because you pay immediately. But in your case, you drink, talk, have fun, and then you pay, someone will give you the check at the end of the evening and then you divide the check by the number of people and then you pay whatever’s on the total share.
Ritesh So these are the things we do. And for the corporate things, like when our organisation company, what they do, they buy tickets type of things, they will give everyone. So what will happen that you can have five drinks or three drinks, any drinks. So if you want to drink Coca Cola or you want to drink whiskey, you can drink one. So that time what happened that they know that these people are from the corporate and they have limited. So apart from that, if you want to go beyond, then you have to buy. Otherwise, if you have booked a table, you went with friends and then they will give a table, you sit there and at the end they will give a bill.
Frank Check, right. Okay, so that’s clear. Okay, so now let’s say I’ve somehow managed to get my way into a pub and I’m having a grand time and I have met some people and it’s what one o’clock in the morning. Is that still possible?
Ritesh Generally, those pubs start in the evening. Why you will go in the daytime if you want to go somewhere, you can go and drink pubs for dancing, enjoying. And if you want to go for drinks, there will be open places and you can go and you will not find more people like number of people will be very less. So someone like with friends, they went in the evening five o’clock. Also, you go, you’ll find some breweries start at seven. They will not open it. So you’ll go and start drinking. If you want to have chit chat with friends, but if you want to go in pub, then you start seven evening. So crowd will be in the evening and Friday, Saturday, not Friday, Friday evening, Saturday evening, Sunday people, they don’t go because everyone is working in office. So they have to go to office on Monday. So they will not take on Sunday. If they are a heavy drinker, they will have hangovers in the morning. So it is suggested that go on Saturday evening, Friday evening after work, Sunday, if you want to go, you have to drink very limited one, two, and one pack or two packs, I can say. And then you come, eat and come. If you don’t have work on Monday, then you can.