Just Beat It
Written by Dilip Muralidaran on July 19, 2008 – 4:03 am -
I had a great time tonight, I went to a pub with friends and had loud and hard hip hop music played at volumes that would hurt your stomach. Music played my way, just like how it would please me at best. However going here to this place and getting to this fun with friends and having some good personal time for me is just not easy as you think it was.
Regardless of what the fuck Indians think on par with their Hindu dogma, I love a drink. I’m not much of a drinker but I find a good taste of vodka, vodka based cocktails and wine. I pay for my booze out of my paycheck, i don’t drink too much and throw up and make a scene, nor do I behave like a pig when I have a drink and of course I clearly know what I’m doing and I’m legally entitled to this shit as an adult Indian in this fucking country, so I don’t see why people should have a fucking problem with it, but some pussies think otherwise and fear their non-existent virginity being lost to a puff of evil whiff in the air god can blow out of his fart from heaven, sigh!
5 hours ago I headed to Dublin a very famous disco / pub at the ever famous Park Sheraton in Chennai to see a friend who invited me over for her birthday party. I head over to the place and just when we were about to get into the pub a bouncer tells me I cannot enter. Another one tells me I should not have come in the first place and it was unethical and stupid of me to have come. The former one says that physically disabled people should not be drinking and its immoral and illegal for them to do so. I told him that anyone over 21 years of age can inject whatever crap they want into their body in a free country like India (sarcasm intended, really!) but the dumb fellow says Its hotel policy not to allow physically disabled people inside the disco and an added logic of "he has a crutch, whats the use of him getting into a disco anyways" dialogue from another wussy while locking my laptop bag in safe custody locker. I ask for the manager and asked them to give me this stuff in writing.
I finally politely and discreetly threaten one of them that I would file a lawsuit for racism and as much as I hate it I had to play that fucked up racism card to let them now I’m a bad ass mother fucker when it comes down to business. Finally after a couple of phone calls and scratching their bald heads the cheap ass Indians think my business worth about Rs. 10,000 that night is worth the risk of them letting me in despite their hotel policy not to allow cripples like me into a disco. The best part is I had three women screaming “he is with me” at the top of their voice and yet I had to pay a cover charge of Rs. 1000, which is applicable for stags.
5 hours since this incident, I don’t regret putting up my stand. I have 3 large vodka’s inside me, a couple of new friends made across the globe, 3 hours of solid fun and 3 hours of thumping music to enchant my senses. Life is hard; sometimes it’s worth fighting for, like for example, today. However being told you are not worth entering a place in front of 3 random women whom you have just been introduced to 45 seconds ago, for any man, I can give it to you is no fucking joke.
Park Sheraton won’t get my business anymore; they can kiss their ass goodbye. I won’t schedule any of my office meetings or conference calls or training programs there anymore, unless I get an explanation whatever the fuck in the world they were trying to tell me this evening. My crutch isn’t my sign of weakness; it’s my symbol of empowerment. Despite a dislocated hip, a post arthritis condition that slowly damages my spinal cord to kill me and the excruciating pain I face every moment of my lifelike a screw driver drilled through my bollocks (yes, I really know what pain on the ass means) it gets my ass moving from point A to point B. If one can’t have the brains to understand that, maybe they should go back to school and stop watching too much mega serials, Tamil movies and leave their fucking religious morality and views at the fucking doorstep when they come to work.
Canon EOS 400D with the Sigma EF 24 - 70 MM F/2.8, Aperture Priority, F/4 at 1/200th of a Second.
Posted in Uncategorized |
By ada-paavi!!!! on Jul 19, 2008 | Reply
tried zara? they arent so uptight. They let me in with the sign of a trouble making reporter clothing ie kurta and jeans
By The Quirky Indian on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
That is the most disgraceful thing I have ever heard. Well, FWIW, that hotel has just lost my potential business too…and you can be sure I’ll spread the word around.
Keep at it.
Quirky Indian
http://quirkyindian.wordpress.comuirky
By Lekhni on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
Not a good experience. Maybe you should have walked out instead of paying up. Have you considered writing to a newspaper about your experience?
By Dilip Muralidaran on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
@ada-paavi: I go to zara’z often but i hate climbing those stairs. It sucks!
@the quirky indian: i’ve black listed them in my office too. they won’t get emc business anymore
@lekhni: not yet, maybe i would.
By Amrutha on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
this is simply outrageous…you should consider Lekhni’s suggestion and write to a newspaper…I am sure it’s illegal or something…I don’t know how though…
By Hawkeye on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
I don’t understand this. Did they refuse entry to you because you were
[1] a Hindu on crutches and they claimed it was immoral for them to serve alchohol to a hindu on crutches
(or)
[2] you were a hindu and they wouldn’t serve alchohol to any hindu
(or)
[3] because you were in crutches and they wouldn’t serve alchohol to anyone in crutches.
After reading this post I don’t understand if it was your religion or your crutches that was a problem to them.
[2] above seems absurd. Because they shouldn’t have a bar if that was their policy. if it was [1] they are making up their own religion.
Now I am wondering what Park Sheraton has got to do with Hindus.
By Dilip Muralidaran on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
@amrutha: i will certainly look into it.
@hawkeye: here is how it works…
1. they refused entry because i was physically challenged.
2. they thought a physically disabled person drinking is immoral, which many hindu’s believe
3. they thought to allow a physically disabled person to drink is unethical, which again most hindu’s believe.
Im my conversation with many conservative hindu’s and some christians and muslims too i have found out that they expect physically disabled people to be tetotallers (no drink, smoke and unethical sex) and anything otherwise is shocking to them.
this is a perspective of the majority of the society and is more so because of hinduism.
By Hawkeye on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
Unless IPC specifically prohibits them on this, it is quite stupid and perplexing of them to refuse your business. I wonder what past history prompts them to do this.
I wrote the comment because I didn’t think this was connected to religion. Quite frankly, I don’t believe #2 in your response was the reason they sent you back. They might’ve told you so but coming from people who sell alchohol to hindus daily their “explanation” has no credibility and is hard to believe.
I understand now that the religious references was more of an undercurrent of your other personal experiences rather than this specific experience.
I can’t imagine a person would think only handicapped drinking (as opposed to generic drinking) is like a big religious offense. it just sounds a little wierd.
By Dilip Muralidaran on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
@hawkeye: when you said “I understand now that the religious references was more of an undercurrent of your other personal experiences rather than this specific experience.” i do agree with you that you are marginally right. However being physically challenged most of the stuff people get to know about me upset them much. I openly admit im an atheist which seems to be a huge problem when people think i should be living at the mercy of god. When i was a kid, during weddings when other kids used to chew beetle nut which was considered not so healthy for children the normal ones got away but i get scrutinized for doing this because im expected to be humble and innocent all of the time and harmful things would do more harm to me than it does to normal people. I would appreciate this if it was of general human concern, which it is in minor cases but in most cases helping a physically disabled person commit a heinous crime, in this case the sin of drinking alcoholic beverages is feared by most people as a terrible and inexcusable crime in the eyes of god. This explains why i’m a victim of baseless and logic less discrimination many a times which otherwise normal people would never get subject to. The foundation for these comes from religion, if you remove the god and sin part of it, most people would give a flying fuck as to what i do and don’t do…
By crazybunka on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
There should be a strict policy preventing bird brained mountain apes from speaking.
Its shocking how conceited and pretentious desi pubs and discos can get.
Mo-fos
-Shankar
By maduraiveeran on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
I liked the photograph. It has come out very well. Well, feel good and try another pub I would say.
By Mayuresh Gaikwad on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
Hi Dilip,
That was indeed outrageous. However, this is the first time I am hearing that some people believe that a physically challenged person cannot drink. I am sure it has got nothing to do with religion. For that matter, no one in this world has the right to dictate someone else chooses to do, whatever be the physical condition.
I am not quite content that you just threatened to sue. You should have gone ahead and called the cops. or preferably some journos too. That would have taught them a lesson.
By Hawkeye on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
Please don’t misinterpret my questions to understand that I am judging you. I do judge people but this is not one of those moments.
In short
1. What people tell you as a reason maybe different from their ulterior motives of prevent someone from doing something.
2. Religion is typically a bucket that takes on all kinds of attribution. Usually the attributors are bigoted dumbfucks who have no clue about the said religion.
3. Every person has a right to be an atheist or a religious person as long as he follows things set by IPC.
4. I am not even pretending to claim/know what you underwent in your childhood and your disposition to god as a result of it.
I was trying to do a simple accounting of what happened. Since this is a ‘write to the newspaper’ type incident.
By Hawkeye on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
to clarify:
item (2) on bigoted people - I was referring to the security people who didnt let you in on account of religion.
By mssnlayam on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
I am extremely outraged, and feel the urge to comment.
Lekhni’s suggestion is good. At the very least, a neighborhood newspaper would want to print a letter from you.
I don’t know about the law, but I think something like this would be illegal. Even if it is not a crime, they will be liable for civil damages. Are there organizations like the ACLU in India that would take up something like this? I have heard about PUCL, but I don’t know how active they are (I sent them an email a few months ago and I have not heard from them).
I liked this a lot — “My crutch isn’t my sign of weakness; it’s my symbol of empowerment.”
By mssnlayam on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
More effectively, people who read this can boycott Park Sheraton (and maybe call them to let them know about it).
By Vallath on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
I am from Qatar and I always face this problem while trying to get into Cloud Nyn. The moment they see me, they close the velvet rope and refuse to let me in because of my crutch (ala Sanjay Dutt in Saajan). The reason they cited was they weren’t ready to take on the responsibility of any subsequent injury I may suffer because of the crowds that push and shove on the dancefloor or because of my inability to hold myself up, after getting high. My friends had to yell, that I was their responsibility and that I don’t consume alcohol anyway. After finally gaining admission I complained to the manager and he just shrugged it off as “hotel policy”. I had to befriend the beverage manager, who I text every time before I go there, and he gets the security to allow me in. But you are absolutely right about discrimination. In India, I often find this strange bias, “Oh she’s crippled and she dresses like that/hangs out in discotheques/has no humility” like that’s of any consequence.
By Shilpa on Jul 23, 2008 | Reply
Dublin has just gotten into my ‘iggy list’….that was terribly disgusting!
By sunshine on Jul 24, 2008 | Reply
Loved your post!!!
Unfortunately, bouncers at pubs always seem to be on a power-trip… they usually think that people come to pubs to ‘hook-up’.. and that it’s up to them to let in people with ‘alluring’ qualities… all you’d need is a big pimple to be left out!!
By Dilip Muralidaran on Jul 26, 2008 | Reply
@crazybunka: i do hit zara’s often
@maduraiveeran: I do quite a lot of photography. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dilipm/
@hawkeye: to claim there was no religious background is impossible. Its not about selling alcohol to Hindus but its about selling alcohol to a cripple which Hinduism considers very sinful or Hindu gods may never forgive kind of a thought process. Normally any sin committed or help a physically disabled person commit is considered even more sinful, that’s practical practicing Hinduism. Ask any physically disabled Hindu (if the Christians haven’t converted them already) this fact and they would tell you how its viewed by a Hindu.
@mssnlayam: I actually spoke to dublin manager who then apologized that there was no hotel policy as such but his colleagues confirmed there was indeed one a few hours back. I doubt dublin manager is lying because i threatened i will blacklist him with my company who give them loads of business.
@Vallath: i thought women had a free pass without questions into clubs. beats me, looks like we crutch users are really that ugly for fact, everyone seems to hate us. damn!
@sunshine: i have that too but looks like my brand new crutch was really shining bright in the disco lights.
Thanks all for your comments and response. I’m planning to walk into dublin again after 2 weeks to test if they still have that dumbshit rule applicable for me. Kind of a sting operation, sort of….
By N K Chezhian on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Well. It seems, they don’t ‘ve any issues with your crutch or your religion. I believe, they thought you can’t drink or booze as much like normal(?) people(as you say) who leads sedantary unconscious life-style. I Feel What u Felt. Indeed,Heartless Persons everywhere who may ‘ve curiosity but lacks veracity in this Fucking World!
By senthil on Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
was jus reading some of ur posts…u seem to be using the “f” word quite often (a lot in fact)…its disgusting to keep seeing it after a while…
By Dilip Muralidaran on Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
@senthil: profanity is subjective. to me fuck is a way if expressing something with importance. im proud to say fuck, as a biological entity im here for the sole purpose of fucking around to create a better version of me. I guess richard dawkins would agree with my analogy, although he may probably not with the use of profanity.
as for the disgust, my moral compass does not subscribe to religious views since im atheist. to me fuck is an ordinary act, just like eat, walk, run, piss, sleep, roll, limp etc.,
By sophizz on Jan 30, 2009 | Reply
crazy shit
i wont go to dublin anymore
10 downing today