CITY LIFE & LIVING
7
www.dnaindia.com
Bangalore, Wednesday, July 29, 2009
epaper.dnaindia.com
PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
Shriya’s 16, but her battle with alcohol began four years ago. Today, she admits to her addiction and is working with AA to get her life back on track
H
ow can a 16-year-old be an alcoholic? Maybe it's just a phase. She's probably had too much to drink at last night's party and feels miserable. That's all. Alcoholic is certainly not a word. With thoughts like these flitting through my mind, I catch up with Shriya (name changed); young, confident and pretty, she seems as normal as any teenager. With one exception, she is currently the youngest member of Alcoholics Anonymous's Bangalore chapter. With a few superficial introductions past us, I ask her the first question that's been nagging me: "When did you have your first drink?" Shriya goes back in time to a night about four years ago: "I stole alcohol from my dad's stash and went up to the terrace and downed it." Were you just curious? I inquire. "No, I was mad at my dad because he's an alcoholic. So through my class 7 and class 8, I drank in the nights. And if my parents found the booze level to have diminished, I'd say I poured it in the sink, because I didn't want daddy to drink." Then came a stint of relative sobriety, where she got back to studying and tried to stay away from drinking, until…"college just sort of brought it all back", she confesses. But how does Shriya know that she's different from a normal college-goer who likes to grab a drink once in a while. "You just know. I am completely aware that I am different from other drinkers.
‘The big struggle is coping with life’
There are so many times that I've woken up in autos with no memory of how I got there”
DREW BARRYMORE
AMY WINEHOUSE
She was already a regular at the famed Studio 54 when she was a little girl, smoking cigarettes at age nine, drinking alcohol by the time she was 11, smoking marijuana at 12, and snorting cocaine at 13. Her nightlife and constant partying became a popular subject with the media. She was in rehab at age 13. A suicide attempt at age 14 put her back in rehab.
In an interview released in June 2009, Winehouse's father said the singer was in a drug replacement programme. He said she was gradually recovering but that heavy alcohol use was causing "slight backward steps". A documentary shot early in 2009 shows Winehouse apparently intoxicated according to a newspaper report.
A new website is making the dealers do all the running around for you PK Surendran. BANGALORE Picture this. A customer places an order as he reclines in his easy chair with his feet up. Dealers scramble for the customer and the lowest bidder bags the order. Both gain from the deal, and of course, the facilitator too. This is Reverse Option. The concept of Reverse Option runs like this: You are a professional too busy with work and living your life to spare half a day to go around looking for a flat-screen TV. You go online and log on to govasool.com, an online shopping site. Like a search engine, govasool alert sellers of TVs in the city asking them to quote their prices. Once approved by the customer, the goods are delivered Srikanth Chunduri free of charge. In the bargain, the city sees a drop in vehicular traffic and hence a reduction in pollution levels. The online facilitator also helps create an Internet network of major dealers that helps future online shoppers. "Saving money is in every Indian's DNA," says Aditya Bhamidipaty, the Saving money is in young co-founder of govasool, "but they every Indian’s often get cheated DNA but they often get and do not have a cheated and do not have a proper platform to make sure of two proper platform to make crucial parts of any sure of two crucial parts business deal: Qualof any business deal: ity and a fair price." Govasool is an Quality and a fair price” easy way to bargain for bulk discounts Aditya Bhamidipaty by joining other shoppers. Aditya's partner is Srikanth Chunduri. They claim govasool is the only online store in India with this group-buying feature that helps disorganised buyers get bulk discounts. In its five months of existence in Bangalore, govasool has done 110 transactions and handled 1,500 queries, despite p_surendran@dnaindia.net their low visibility.
drink in front of you, your equation with it is just the same. The thoughts in your mind and your struggle to not down it are identical." Now, as part of the first women-only AA meetings in the city, she says, "A women-only group definitely gives you more freedom to be open. Also there are women from all age groups here. There is a 28-year-old girl in the meetings who has been sober for 11 years now. She quit drinking at 17, and the fact that there are so many people who have been sober for years gives encouragement." She also feels that a support group is more likely to relate to your struggle. "The bigger struggle isn't with a substance, it's coping with life. You can't just keep thinking about how not to stop drinking, but also what else to make of your life." But does her family know any of her story? "No way! Just to test the waters I told my mother that I had a breezer and she completely freaked out. So it's not a good idea", she says, laughing. For other teenagers struggling like her, she has a word of advice. "The start is to admit you have a problem and ask for help. And that's exactly what I did," she says with a wisdom much beyond her years. Alcohol Anonymous women's meetings take place every Saturday. For further details call 9845587507/9902262316 or email info@aabangalore.org —Elizabeth Soumya
HELPING AN ALCOHOLIC
1
Go to an addictions counsellor at AA and get support. You have probably been helping the alcoholic drink by covering up for them — this has got to stop. Once you get support, then you can act
2
3
With the counsellor's help, gather together an intervention team. This is a group of people who have been adversely affected by the person's drinking. Choose those strong enough to tell the truth
Have each person write the alcoholic a letter detailing exact situations where the alcoholic's drinking hurt them. Then state the consequences if he/she refuses to go into treatment for the addiction.
4
The intervention is over when the person agrees to go into treatment or the professional believes that the meeting has served its purpose. Most interventions end in the person going into treatment
LINDSAY LOHAN On August 23, 2007, Lohan pleaded guilty to cocaine use. She was sentenced to one day in jail and 10 days community service. She was also ordered to pay fines, complete an alcohol education programme and placed on probation for three years. "It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs," Lohan said in a statement.
It’s break time as B-Boys burn up the floor Four young men from different parts of the globe have descended on the city for a dancing extravaganza
RAKESH RAVINDRAN.DNA
Now, shopping online just got a lot easier
Once you are in college, people drink to socialise, but with me, all my thoughts are about the next drink, I am preoccupied with it." She gives a closer view of her fixation: "I go to parties to drink. I always lie to my friends about what drink I am on. If I am on my eighth glass, I'll say it's just my third. After drinking, my friends perhaps just go home and sleep, but I have a bottle hiding somewhere. Just so I am not found out at home, I start drinking early on weekends, and a lot of my drinking also happens in my room. There are so many times that I've woken up in autos with no memory of how I got there or where the auto is headed. I would have bruises on my body and not know how I got them." It is only natural that Shriya's college life is affected by her addiction. She says that she is crabby and irritable most days, as she's nursing hangovers. She admits to having walked into class after a shot or two on occasion. For Shriya, the self-awareness of being an alcoholic came when Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was conducting a workshop in her college. "I first approached them for some help for my father. But I heard one person talking about how he overcame his addiction and I could completely identify with his struggle and hopelessness. It was almost like he was reading my mind. It's really not about how old you are. When you have that
Sajini Sahadevan. BANGALORE "Don't forget to catch the beat!" Says Lilou, in halting English, to the circle of eager dancers watching him as he wraps up the first of the day's two sessions for the B-Boy dance workshop. "Don't just freeze. It's not just break; it's break dance," he tells a lad who has just performed his 15-second bit at the centre of the dance floor. The bespectacled, slight dancer can easily pass off for a nerd, but his body cannot lie. If he sees an outstanding move by a participant, he cannot help but reciprocate with complementary moves. It is little wonder then, that he is one of the four best B-boy dancers in the world, according to the international BC One Championship organised by Red Bull. On the other side of the club, Pelezinho is instructing his batch on getting the slide and freeze right. "Un, dois," he counts in Portuguese, as he demonstrates step after step. The other two B-Boys, Benny and Roxrite are taking the day off after handling the first of the four-day workshop the previous day, but are present at the venue. "We practice for five hours every day," says Benny, the South African winner. And it shows. Roxrite, the B-Boy winner from the US, adds, seriously, "It is very important to keep doing it instead of thinking you've learnt all there is to know. You should make an effort to know the history of the dance form." He and Pelezinho, a Brazilian, are 27, the oldest of the group while Benny, at 24, is the youngest. But their stories are similar in that they hardly received any
Juthika Sinha. BANGALORE Gone are the days when people casually stumbled into a Yoga class in sleep-soaked Ts and crumpled pyjamas. Now is the time to stash away the spiritual sleep gear avatar because yoga is all about self-improvement, and practicing yoga in those pickled clothes may not be the best way to achieve it. With Nike, Adidas and Urban Yoga launch-
A B-boy or B-girl is a person devoted to b-boying or break-dancing.
Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew explains the origin of the term — “the word b-boy originated from Kool Herc…b-boys and b-girls — break boys, break girls”. The term quickly came to include any followers of hip hop, identifiable by attire, music listening preferences or lifestyle, but in recent years has reverted to its specific usage in connection with dance.
Battles are an integral part of the
WITH THE FLOW: (left) The B-boys Pelezinho, Benny, Lilou and Roxrite; (right) Lilou demonstrates a hand-stand at the B-boy dance workshop conducted at the Fusion Lounge encouragement from their friends and family before fame took them places. "I tell you," volunteers Lilou, "in my own country France, people say 'you gangster!' when I tell them B-boy dancing is my job. But in places like [South] Korea, you get football player status. They have live broadcasts of B-Boy competitions held there. When I'd come home late at night after dance practice on the streets, while in school, my mum would ask me to study. She'd say 'Become doctor like others in the family'." Benny nods in agreement. Lilou makes a swishing sound moving his palm from right to left gesturing a slap, indicating the reaction he might've received from his mum. Pelezinho lives with his grandmother. "He says she can't stop gushing about him now. But ini-
Balancing mind and body, in style A host of big brands have launched designer yoga wear, and the city’s youth are loving it
OFF THE STREETS
ing their collections of designer yoga wear, the spiritual look just got a whole lot hipper. But do you have to be well-dressed to head down the route to awareness? According to Sheetal, the marketing head of Urban Yoga, their line is more than just about looking good. “There are no labels to irritate your neck. And the seams have been flattened for a smooth feel. The gussets give you that extra room, which you sometimes need during an asana,” she says. And naturally, there’s an environmental angle. “Urban Yoga makes use of environmentallyfriendly fabrics. These include bamboo fabric and kora fabric,” says Kanwalpreet Walia, the marketing manager. But for some traditional yoga practitioners, it is the commitment and dedication towards
tially, she would tell him not to dance as she thought only bad crowds danced that way," Roxrite translates his friend's response, which is in Portuguese. B-Boy is yet to build a strong base in India, but the organisers are hoping to promote local talent through the workshops which will also be held in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Goa. The four winners were discovered through reality shows themselves. Life has been a rollercoaster ride since. "It's amazing," says Lilou, "We travel so much. Dancing is our job too, but we love it." When the absence of B-boy girls is pointed out, Benny says there are many women on the scene abroad. "They are sometimes stronger and can defeat the men at the moves," says Lilou, re-
b-boying culture. They can take the form of a cypher battle and an organised battle. Both types of battles are head to head confrontations between individuals or groups of dancers who try to out-dance each other. calling a considerable number of women participants during a workshop in Japan. Pelezinho and Roxrite also mention that there are talented dancers in Colombia, Australia, America and Taiwan. The boys stand up, indicating the end of a break that lasted less than 15 minutes.Both sessions for the day have come to a finish, but the crowd is reluctant to disperse as the four B-Boys gather at the centre of the dance floor to practice. "Don't do Youtube!" Says Lilou, warning the participants against learning steps off the website. The B-Boys will be performing for the public at NYX today at 10:30pm. The workshop is free and on till Thursday at Fusion Lounge, Deena's Complex, Brigade Road. s_sajini@dnaindia.net
Sheetal, Head of Marketing, Urban Yoga There are no labels to irritate your neck. And the seams have been flattened for a smooth feel” spiritual fitness that really matters, as opposed to what you wear. Suneeta, a yoga practitioner at the Fitness Hub, says, “There are so many brand-names in the metros which sell fitness clothing, but if we go back to the traditional era there were gurukuls where students would wear a langota, concentrating more on the balancing of mind, body and soul than apparels.” But Bangalore’s urban youth are fashion-conscious and they’re opting for branded yoga wear with a gusto reserved for those on the cutting edge of style. Neha Arora, 21, is a Koramangala resident who recently bought branded yoga apparel. She says, “The clothes are extremely comfortable and the fabric takes the shape of the body and allows you to practice yoga without any hassle. But I don’t worry about what I am wearing and I have my mind and body coordinated while performing asanas.”