MUMBAI SET TO GROOVE TILL 5 AM TONIGHT

MUMBAI SET TO GROOVE TILL 5 AM TONIGHT





Folks hope this will bring the city's quintessential party mojo back...

Tonight you can let your hair down and party way past mid night to welcome the New Year as parties in Mumbai hotels, bars and pubs will be allowed to go on till 5 am.The party deadline has been extended and this has put the beat back into the city's party step. Affirms Mumbai police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni, “The 5 am deadline is in place for tonight. Clubs will also be allowed to play music till midnight, but permission for this has to be sought from the local police station.“ For revellers -who are regular party hoppers, this ruling is not just a welcome measure, but signifies the hope of a return to the good old times.

`HIGH TIME THIS HAPPENED!'

“This reminds me of what Mumbai used to be, when I came here 10 years ago,“ says VJ Andy . “I think the legendary party vibe is coming back and here's hoping it stays. Let's not forget, Mumbai is a transit city , a place where people from all over the globe connect, so it's high time this happened. I'm definitely going to be partying till 5 am,“ he declares.
For hospitality head honcho Rishi Acharya the upcoming time limit is a welcome thing. “Here's hoping this permission will change things. After all, this is what Mumbai is about.Compared to other places, it is this city that has an international flavourvibe. Delhi is more about farmhouse and restaurants, but Mumbai is about people going out, socialising and clubbing. It's all this that makes the city what it is.Maybe this is the change Mumbai needs; why restrict to just this time of the year?“ he says..

PARTYING WAS ALWAYS AN ALL-NIGHT AFFAIR

Adman and party regular Kailash Surendranath who admits he's seen the nightlife change in the city over the years recalls the difference between now and then. “Partying in Mumbai was always an all-night affair; this really was the `city that never sleeps'.“ He says, “I remember one night in December when we did clubhopping and then everyone went to eat something at Haji Ali. I have seen people having a party in the middle of the traffic island there. Cars were parked and people were dancing.Everything was just so lively and free. The whole transformation in nightlife happened after a series of unfortunate incidents, and it changed things. But crimes aren't really happening in clubs. And as far drinking and driving goes, it happens in any case. So I feel allowing an easy deadline should not just be with respect to New Year's Eve, but it should happen through the year.“

AT A GLANCE

The excise department has allowed all types of permit rooms and liquor shops to continue till 5am and 1am, respectively, on January 1.
Those partying at home will be able to buy liquor from shops till 1am instead of the usual 10.30pm.

BOAT CRUISES ARE BACK

City party planners also welcome the comeback of the `dinner cruise ferries' from Gateway of India.They are set to leave from Gateway of India post 9 pm, for the first time since 2008. “The New Year party idea was actually born on these cruises more than a decade ago. The huge barges with loudspeakers were quite a thing back then, so it's great to have them back -this is what Mumbai should be all about. The boats are a great venue to party and you can have different themes in the cruise party . People do house parties and clubbing round the year anyway , so this is a new venue to enjoy,“ says party planner Dhawal Oza.