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Presenting Gurgaon's post-31st New Year parties [People] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) As New Year's Eve fell on a Tuesday this year, several Gurgaonwallahs chose to party the weekend before so as to avoid walking into work hung-over the next day. They also said that rather than shell out a bomb to enjoy the typical '31st December party' with a rowdy crowd, lousy drinks and an 11.59pm deadline, they wanted to welcome the New Year without getting broke or being subject to deadlines, while partying with their own friends. Celebrating New Year's Eve on December 31 in Gurgaon? Oh, please... that's so 2012! Back then, there was a whole ritual to a New Year's Eve party, like the countdown to the clock striking 12 on January 1, the midnight kiss, the binge drinking and spending the first day of the year with the traditional hangover. But thanks to the authorities playing the Grinch of New Year's Eve in 2013-14, with pubs shutting down at 12am, and roads filled with police checkposts or cordoned off completely, and not to forget - no holiday the next day - most Gurgaonwallahs are done with the December 31 tamasha. Here's why this year, when the rest of the world carried on with its boring, cliched December 31st celebrations, Gurgaon's New Year's parties started on the 28th and lasted till the 1st! Celebrating on 31st is worth it, despite the issues "Although we know that it's crazy out there in pubs and bars on New Year's Eve, there's a lot of checking, and Gurgaon cops have done their best to kill the party fever with their unreasonable deadlines, it still is worth it to go out and wait for the clock to strike 12 and wish people with fireworks and crackers. It's amazing how everyone becomes friendly and is happy to wish each other, and the excitement is best felt in a crowd and not while sitting alone in front of the TV, watching how people around the world are having fun." - Ishan Munjal, 25, DJ Shouldn't be alone on the 31st "Despite the ridiculously high cover charges, tell me one place that is not jam-packed with people on NYE. Exactly! Despite the difficult traffic, bottle-necked roads, and a zillion checkposts, we still go out and celebrate with friends because it's New Year's Eve! You can't raise a toast to the things that have gone wrong in the year gone by alone, you need someone to laugh it off with." - Vipin Arora, 25, works with an MNC Cops are not always that strict Although there's no way you can drink and drive in Gurgaon because the cops are too strict these days, I feel there is a slight chance of getting away if the cop catching you is in a good mood too, and you're just a little above the allowed limit because it's 'happy-New-Year'." -Deepak Bedi, 29, entrepreneur Happy hour discounts "It sucks to be struggling through traffic jams, crossing a zillion check posts and paying through your nose to enter a regular pub on New Year's Eve after work on December 31. So, I decided to celebrate on January 1 instead. We ordered drinks during happy hours, calling in the New Year, while saving money." - Nikita Gupta, 26, works with a real estate firm Impossible to take an off on Jan 1, but not Jan 2 "I had work on January 1, and it was next to impossible to get an off on that day because many people had planned it and were absent because of partying on NYE. So, my friends and I decided to chill and party on the night of January 1 because taking an off on the 2nd was still possible and there wouldn't be as much checking and strictness as there was on the 31st." - Deepika Moondhara, 27, works with a telecom company No 11.59pm curfew "Gurgaon was anyway observing an unofficial curfew, with roads closed to the public because of the molestation incident two years ago. Besides that, it was the only city to shut pubs and bars by 11.59pm. So, there wasn't going to be a countdown to the New Year or anything. So it would be just like a regular party, except you'd have to spend five times the amount. Which is why I celebrated on Wednesday, taking rounds of pubs on MG Road (as it was not shut)." - Dolly Mahajan, 26, works with an MNC Loved mid-week New Year celebration! "While most people either dealt with hangovers, or slept on the first day of the year, we celebrated January 1 all day long to mark the new year, and ended the celebrations with a bonfire at my house. I love mid-week parties because they give you the strength to go on till the weekend, and you can look forward to something exciting again." - Tarun Kumar Thakur, 25, works with an IT firm (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |