Modi, Music & Masti on New Year eve

KOLKATA: Party joints across the city will start belting out foot-tapping numbers even before the sun sets on Saturday but as the clock strikes 7.30, music will make way for live news telecast as PM Narendra Modi starts announcing his latest moves on demonetisation. Will Modi play party-pooper or will he finally have some good news to share? The city will wait with bated breath to know what’s in store before hitting the dance floor on the big night.
Some like businessman Ankit Agarwal have deferred the party till after the speech.Still reeling from the bombshell that Modi had dropped a month and a half ago, Agarwal just cannot make himself to start partying till he has heard Modi out.
Several party venues, including Shisha, Vault, Xrong Place and Black, have taken the unusual decision to tune into news channels at 7.30pm to screen the PM’s speech. Usually, TVs at these nightspots are tuned into music and sports channels.
“There is no denying what the PM has to say is the talk of town. Screening anything else at that hour doesn’t make sense,” reasoned Shisha business head Ritesh Srivastav.
At Vault, Arijit Datta will stop the music so that the patrons can hear the PM out. He is just hoping the PM does not drop another bombshell and spoil the evening.
Even diehard party-goers who wouldn’t have imagined listening to a politician even in their nightmares are anxious about Modi’s speech. “Does anyone have a choice after his demonetisation dhamaka? I usually party with friends at a club. But this year, we have organized a house party so that we follow what the PM has to say. I hope it isn’t boring,” said public relations executive Sumantika Choudhury.
Most, though, won’t mind if it is less exciting than the content of the November 8 speech. “Last time, he dropped a bomb that shook the entire country. I was travelling during that time and watched it on YouTube. This time, I don’t want to miss a word. And I hope he has some good news,” said Suvajit Basu, a software engineer from Tollygunge.
There are several rumours doing the rounds, including an announcement on introduction of new Rs 1000 notes and demonetisation of Rs 2000 notes. “You never know, he might simply thank citizens for their cooperation,” said orthopaedic Arinadam Ganguly.
Those who plan to leave for a distant party venue said they would be hooked to social networking sites and news portals to get latest updates.