Author: Amitabh Srivastava
Publication: India Today
Date: December 24, 2010
URL: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/124466/LATEST%20HEADLINES/the+new+bihari.html
Trendy hausfrau Babita Kumar, 36, is preparing
for a birdie. The little white golf ball, perfectly poised on the tee, will
soon carve an arc through the air as it soars above the grass of the 18-hole
Patna Golf Club spread over 108 hectares of impeccably maintained green. Babita
says she is addicted to the sport. "Seeing me, my husband who is in the
Merchant Navy has also taken up golf," she says.
Tapan Ghosh, the captain of the club, says
that many women have taken up golf in Patna recently. Young golfers, too,
are a common sight on the course; 16-year-old student Aman Raj cycles to the
club after school, puts on golfing gear and practices with his clubs every
day. "The Patna Golf Club has gifted him a kit worth Rs 1 lakh,"
says Mohit Ahluwalia, 47, the nattily dressed secretary of the club. The club,
established in March 1916, has over 650 members now. "The current membership
fee of Rs 75,000 is likely to be doubled soon," says Ahluwalia. Meet
the new Patnaites.
After his election victory, Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar spoke about the rise of the "new Biharia". The violent,
pan-chewing criminal portrayed in Bollywood movies like Gangajal is fast vanishing;
today's young Bihari is a trendy consumer with strong aspirations. Restaurants,
bars, theatres, and clubs like the Bankipur Club and the Patna Club are full
of people enjoying themselves. Twentysomethings Nilima Mitra and Dilkash Tahseen,
studying for post-graduate degrees in Patna, love to try out the city's many
new restaurants at least twice a week. "We have many options in the city
now," says Mitra, slurping hakka noodles at Yo China! in the Bandar Bagicha
locality. Don't their parents worry? After all, it's already dark. The girls
giggle. "They know where we are. The Sholay days are over in Patna. The
city is safer than Delhi," claims Tahseen. Pankaj Kumar Jha, manager,
Yo China!, says they are open till 11 p.m. now, since many families walk in
late, "unlike in 2006 when we would close by 9.45 p.m."
Families with an ice-cream addiction are a
common sight in Patna at 11 p.m.; something unimaginable before 2006. "We
often go out for a scoop of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate chip cookie dough
after dinner," says Reeta Prakash, a housewife from Kankarbagh. Outlets
of Baskin Robbins, Sudha ice-cream-made by the Bihar State Co-operative Milk
Producers Federation Limited-as well as hundreds of other ice-cream parlours
do brisk business.
The food stalls at Maurya Lok complex-Patna's
Connaught Place-are rarely empty, with new restaurants opening nearly every
week on the Dak Bungalow Road. "Patna's appetite for more is continuously
shooting up," says Amar Kumar, general manager of Pind Balluchi restaurant,
which also runs the upmarket Revolving Restaurant on the 18th floor of Biscomaun
Bhawan near Gandhi Maidan. Catering to the city's diverse tastebuds, many
eateries dish out Continental and Oriental food. "Pasta, macaroni and
spaghettis are now available almost everywhere," says 25-year-old Ankita.
"Restaurants are only one of the many
choices to freak out in Patna," says Bharya (name changed), 21, a student,
trendy in skinny jeans. Last week, she celebrated a friend's birthday at Kapil's
Eleven's Bar where they experimented with cocktails for the first time. "It
tasted bitter but it was fun," laughs Bharya who epitomises the born-again
Patna girl who loves wearing skirts, jeans and fashionable clothes. Oglers
do not bother them. The branding of Patna is evident from the number of fashion
outlets that have sprung up on Fraser Road, Boring Road, the Patliputra Colony
and Hathua Market. Patna's favourite brands are Nakshatra, Titan, Reebok,
BlackBerry, Color Plus, Van Heusen, Pepe Jeans, Levi's, Spykar, Zodiac and
Fabindia. Biharis are spending freely. "In four years, the monthly sales
of Cadbury products in the state have gone up to around Rs 4 crore from around
Rs 1 crore," says Alok Kumar, a distributor. Wrigley's chewing gum sales
have touched Rs 40 lakh a month, and Lotte Confectionery does business worth
Rs 55 lakh a month.
Late night shows at Mona- Patna's famous old
cinema hall which has now been converted into a swanky multiplex- run "houseful".
The demand for more multiplexes has risen; film director Prakash Jha has turned
businessman with his soon-to-be inaugurated P&M Mall that promises a modern
multiplex with cutting-edge technology. Another theatre, Regent, has been
remodelled and renovated with plush seats and decor. The avenues of personal
gratification have multiplied in the city; Patnaites can now learn salsa at
Shiamak Davar's dance school franchise, blow up Rs 2,000 on gold facials at
saloons, spend an afternoon at the spa. Patna's new society has forced established
entertainment players to adapt accordingly. Many event organisers have diversified
into party planners and wedding planners. Event consortiums like Patna 11-a
group of 11 firms that handle traditional social functions like weddings and
birthdays-now organise theme parties. "Patna 11 was born when in 2008,
we felt party planning is a niche waiting to be filled," say Sandeep
Kumar, 25, partner, Patna 11.
The dating scene in the city is hotting up;
autodating, or spending time with your beloved in an autorickshaw, is the
new sex. The Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, with its green, grassy grounds
and trees has emerged as Patna's Romance Central. "Criminals have lost
official patronage," says Hetukar Jha, former hod of Sociology, Patna
University. "This has inspired young couples to go out and make a statement.
Though Patna's society is still traditional, young couples are now freely
meeting outside."
Real estate prices in Patna have appreciated
more than 250 per cent in the last three years. "Today, people from all
over the state are willing to buy flats in Patna," says builder Ejaz
Hussain of Pristine Construction. Many non-resident Biharis also want a home
in Patna. "Bihar is growing," says Sagar Shankar, 24, an mba from
isb, Kolkata, who returned to Bihar to work for Coca-Cola India. "nris
are showing interest in Bihar," says Dr Shaibal Gupta, noted economist
and member secretary of the Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute.
"Most haven't settled down here yet, but the current trend suggests that
nris will start business operations in Bihar soon." US-based Kamal Verma
is one such Bihari, who now frequents Patna to expand her business. "The
Nitish Government has inspired faith to launch new business activities in
Patna," she says. An upmarket owner of Patna's well-known Shagun Banquet
Hall, Verma also owns the Shiamak Davar Dance School franchise in the state
capital.
Where does all the money come from? "Biharis
always had purchasing power and considerable disposable incomes which were
kept hidden from criminals earlier," says P.K. Agarwal, president of
the Bihar Chambers of Commerce and Industries. He says that around 8-10 million
Biharis work in the Middle-East and other countries and the total annual remittances
are considerable. A Confederation of Indian Industry study notes that Bihar
received private investment worth Rs 20,000 crore in the last five years.
"Bihar has started to buy back in Bihar," says Prakash Jha. "Professionals
are returning because in Patna, lifestyle, career options and the environment
are similar to that of any other modern Indian metropolis." The city
also added around 2,000 new cars this year on Dhanteras, spending around Rs
90 crore. Patna is catching up with the noughties, and fast.
