 In an article written on Saturday in HT, the 96-year old writer known for his bold and forthright social commentary; who is known to relish a glass or two of his favourite scotch whisky every evening says, ’our aim should be to produce good quality beverages with low alcoholic content like lager, cider and wines rather than spirits like whiskey, gin, rum or feni (a popular Goan liquor made from cashews) ,’ adding that they should be available at low prices which the poor can afford to buy.
Singh who has spent a few years of his early life in Europe says, ‘All over Europe the making of wine has become a fine art. People have wine-cellars in their homes; Europeans have their favourite wine with both meals. No one is any the worse for doing so.’
Impressed by the Indian wines he writes, ‘in recent years, we also started making wines. Vineyards came up in Maharashtra and Karnataka. So we have our own red, white and rose wines as well as Champagne (he has overlooked the fact that what we make in India cannot be called Champagne but only a sparkling wine even though it is made by the traditional double fermentation method-editor). Many of them are as good as any imported wine, and are good enough to find markets in old wine-producing countries and earn us foreign exchange.’
Singh expresses anguish about the continuing prohibition in Gujarat, the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. He says,’ the case of prohibition of alcoholic drinks is as old as history; the case of ban on smoking is recent. Both have proved to be flops wherever they have been tried. America went through many years of prohibition before it discovered it did not work. India tried it in fits and starts in different states and gave up after realising that however stringent the laws, people addicted to drink got it, if not legally, then some spurious substitute which took their lives. Gujarat is the one state which has refused to learn lessons. It was not surprising thus that last month over 150 people died after drinking some poisonous brew.’
‘Drinking is not a vice, drunkenness is. All over the world adults are allowed to drink when and what they like. It is only when they get drunk and misbehave that they are arrested,’ also reminding the readers that Indians have been drinking since pre-Vedic times.
He signs off with his terse remarks, ‘but will our stupid politicians ever learn any lessons?’
Indeed, when WILL our stupid politicians ever learn any lessons??
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