Two Men Walk Into A Bar

Why Mumbai’s hidden dives are (still) the best places to get Wasted.

- Lindsay Pereira

It didn’t have a name, that decrepit holein-the-wall masquerading as a bar a few hundred metres from where the Arabian Sea lapped the beach at Versova. It may have had a signboard once, because all bars are required to, but nothing was given away as I tentatively stepped in. I found it while in a state of mild inebriation, after asking locals at the fishing village where I could find vodka. They pointed me in its direction by describing a single landmark – a temple framed by the large painted hood of a cobra. I couldn’t have missed it if I tried.

Inside, a single tube light burned fitfully in the gloom, revealing four large tables with plastic seats for around 20 people. The glasses were chipped and grimy, but the vodka appeared to be genuine, a quarter bottle opening with a satisfying crack.

There are more than a few reasons why I have always gravitated to dives like this, starting with the fact that they helped a lot of my friends and me get drunk, especially while we were in college. They were also great places to stop by for a mid-afternoon drink after lectures. I remember stepping into Sunlight near St Xavier’s college one afternoon, for what was supposed to be a quick drink with classmates before an evening concert at Rang Bhavan. By the time we staggered out, the concert venue had closed for the night and we were compelled to go back to the bar because there was nothing else to do. And so we went in again, because the prices made our laughable allowances seem larger.