Pub grub and gupshup

With the pulsating pub and party culture of the city, Bengalureans are always out and about. Partying is a great way to network for work and bond with one’s buddies. But what sort of conversations do the rounds at these revels? We asked some of the city’s youngsters to spill the beans on party banter. IT consultant Pratheek Ponappa, who likes to relax in rooftop lounges with good music, says, “Conversations usually revolve around work, career progression and our social circle during the initial stages and then shifts to personal life, if someone feels like opening up about it.” He then adds, “I feel partying is best enjoyed when done with friends and like-minded people. You’ll be lucky if you randomly meet that someone with whom you share the same frequency. The likelihood of extracting a meaningful conversation at a party is less, but if that happens then nothing like it!”

Parties are not meant to be only in pubs, bars and lounges say some of the youngsters. All they want is to de-stress themselves from the week-long pressure.

These talented youngsters often create a party ambience at their own flat, share the expense and then the joy. Tegite Sangma, working with a doctor consultation app, says, “The type of party chatter depends on the choice of place. If we are at a pub, the topics are mostly about our professional and personal life but if the same party is at home, we talk about stand-up comedy, cooking tips, travelling experiences, memorable moments, best food places and, sometimes, we give each other movie reviews as well. It’s fun to host a set of people who mingle and have opinions on various subjects. But we avoid topics like religion and politics so there aren’t any misunderstandings.” She also recalls some funny moments, saying, “Sometimes, we may not even know much about the subject but we’ll talk on random topics confidently just to keep the conversation going. Such silly and friendly arguments can be a lot of fun. The next day we wake up with a hangover and laugh about the previous night’s nonsense.”

Alcohol-fuelled conversations can certainly be entertaining. In fact, Arun Kumar, sales agent in a start-up, says he has enjoyed every single party conversation that he has been part of till date, though they usually progress in a predictable manner. He says, “We first begin with what nibbles to order and then go on to the price of alcohol. We complain a lot how the government hikes the price of alcohol, which is our stress buster. Then we may talk about girls, which is an obvious topic when guys get together. We may talk about our crush, discuss who we think is beautiful, etc. After that, we are automatically drawn to talk about brands, because we notice which ones the girls prefer. From there, we move to discussions about our parents and their age-related issues. Then enters the giant subject — politics — with different perspectives. All the topics we talk about make complete sense, depending on the amount of alcohol we consume. If we go beyond a reasonable amount, we argue and mess up the party. But we still laugh about all this the next day.”

He admits that it’s different when the same group of friends steps out. “As the ambience is entirely different in pubs, we kind of act posh and decent. I pick up a joint table with friends; enjoy the music and obviously the topics we converse about in the pubs will be about the food, atmosphere, quantity, quality, music and their service. If we want to go deep, then it will be mostly office-related, whether I am out with colleagues or other friends. This is the only place where we can talk about the office openly, verbally bashing a boss or colleagues who are wrong!” Arun grins.