Hyderabad: Car-o-bar is go-to place for boozing

Hyderabad: Drinking in pubs and clubs is now passé, says a study conducted by Kantar-NFX. Conducted across India, it found that many youngsters are looking to grab a drink while in a car or in a parking lot.

This, the study says, is due as much to high pricing at legitimate outlets as to social mores, as more than 54% of people across the country choose to have a car-o-bar (drink in cars) from fear of getting judged by strangers in legal premises.

According to Shyam, (name changed on request): “I would not shy away from any opportunity to grab a drink, be it in my car or the parking lot. Drinking in the car gives me the opportunity to change all the variables in my favour. The music would be of my choice, especially the volume. Since most bars and pubs are loud and sometimes out of my budget.”

Similarly, others say that when they have the opportunity to drink in the car, they would jump at it. “Most bars and pubs have a time limit. In a car, we can drink for as long as we want,” said Shyam.

However, officials of the police department say that consuming alcohol would impair the consumer’s sense of judgement and would make him a road hazard.

“Drinking and driving is against the rules. But, I would have to go through the study to give a more concise answer,” Hyde-rabad police commissioner, Anjani Kumar, told Deccan Chronicle.

However, the study has noted that on-premises drinking is expensive and, therefore, an occasional indulgence. There is also a restrictive environment at home and societal judgments (moral policing) inhibit consumers from drinking in the comfort and safety of their homes. This forces consumers to drink in public spaces such as parking lots, parks and cars (car-o-bars).

Incidentally, for people like PSS Aditya, a youngster who works in a private firm: "When people drink, they tend to get aggressive and resort to violence. If they do that in a car, there are many factors that would distract them. So it is better if people drink at home.”