When the word saturday night comes to mind, it snaps back to the John Travolta starrer superhit saturday night fever movie of 1977. but a saturday night today is much more than just a movie. its a culture. its a phenomenon. its an event and many such similar adjectives can be attributed to it. today the picture that 'saturday night' presents is that of guys and girls getting dressed in the best of their dresses, and 'hit' a pub, a disco or a bar, smoke away packets of cigarretes, gulp down gallons of liquor, dance to the blaring music in smoke filled semi dark rooms, and then end the night by daybreak in various states of dishevelment. ah, quite a lot of activities!
A primary event of the night being dressing up in the best way, well, best on a saturday night means the skimpiest for girls which would ultimately highlight their sexuality, which of course they are proud of and hence the flaunting. their motto: show more skin, make the guys head spin (borrowed from a fallen apart friend). for guysit is the latest attire of john abraham or hrithik roshan seen in the movie or filmfare magazine, which would make girls drool over them, or in other terms highlight their sexuality too. right of equality you see.
The next event is hitting the right place. no dont get me wrong, it means going to the right kind of place. this aspect is largely controlled by the thickness of the wallet. where a 'broke' condition may call for the party in the room with plastic glasses or glasses made by cutting the 500 ml soft drink bottle, a college guy and girl who have just recieved money in the atm will go to a nearby pub cum disc. a working lady may hit a mall and then the chic pub in the city. a group of techies may go away from the boring city, largely because all the pubs and discs have already been 'hit', to outskirts of city, which would fancy new adventure and thrill, better not ask what. a young suave businessman may go for what i called pub hopping, visiting a string of pubs, checking with the wine and women over there, a high society couple may go to multiple parties-with-themes (themes may be best left to your powers of imagination).
Whatever be the place, the booze (another terminology for subsidising the effect of the word 'drinks') must be good, the girls must be good, the music (which is bound to become incoherent after a few pegs) must be good, and the crowd must be good. these are certain pre requisites that everyone looks for on a saturday night celebration.
Liquor is gulped down in gallons, to be modest with the figure, on a saturday night. we as a nation are fast moving to a direction where a majority of people in various age groups are drinking. drinking as a culture is alien (forget the stories of gods drinking 'somras' which every drunkard boasts of). which results in unhealthy drinking practices. for women when its scientifically proven that alcohol is metabolized slow and that the toxicity is higher, getting 'tally' on a 'patiala peg' is niether chic nor smart forget being beneficial. a huge number of girls only come to know of their whereabouts only when they wake up on a sunday morning.
the numerous duels , both physical and verbal that guys get into in high spirits does no good to their careers or peace of mind. women smoking is ever on the rise and non smokers being passive smokers are easily falling into the former bracket.
A visit to the pub or disco can be a very funny yet appaling sight. one can see some 'unexpected' girls holding a bottle in one hand and a cigarette in other dancing being oblivious to their surroundings, some guys in the extreme corner doing some chores which you can faintly relate to the drug abuse awareness ads shown on the TV. then there will be a score of girls usually ang guys rarely falling down. ther will be swearing which your ears cant take, affectionate kisses to many, crying out of desperation, guys taking advantage of the dim and scattered lighting, and many such spectacles which might put a lot of people in shock, especially if the breed of people are parents!
It can be said with all the confidence that all the scenario and situation described above is not a slightest of exaggeration. but may qualify for being an understatement. in reality the scene is much grim and bad. where is this saturday night culture (saturday was far off so the new culture brings in wednesday night culture!) leading us? does teenagersguzzling beers and whiskey and smoking packs of cigarettes on saturday night doing justice to what their parents expect of them? does the hard working professionals do justice to their work, their parents, their future and their children future, their responsibilities?
Something happens on a saturday night. the moods turn euphoric, all inhibition are shed, personalities change, any worry for the future or the present vanishes and just the glass of liquor, the cigarette in hand, the smothering scantily clad bodies, the disco lights, the blaring music is all that people percieve in some form or the other. can all these be justified on claims of 'enjoyment'? can all this be justified on claims of 'leading my personal life' or 'i am responsible for what i do'? is these the answer for it?
