Pubs, lounges gear up to usher in New Year

GUWAHATI: The dream time for party-lovers is here again. It is time to usher in the New Year and the youth are ready with their dancing shoes.
The city is fast embracing the night life with the setting up of discothèques and lounge bars. These different venues, along with private resorts, are organizing various parties on December 31. The New Year bash is not just a potential business endeavour, but also an interesting aspect in the shift of the city's culture.
With the issuance of the district administration's guidelines to city bars and pubs, the venues have already planned their respective parties on New Year's eve. Some are roping in celebrities to attract party-goers, while others are organizing live music performances.
Café Hendrix, one of the most popular joints in the city, would throw a live gig for rock-n-roll lovers here. "There will be two bands performing here. A popular band from Shillong, Krossfeet, will be one of the performers. They will be playing hard and classic rock, while city-based Cluster One will treat the party-goers with some classic rock and Spanish music. We cater to rock music fans. We will take a cover charge that includes food, drinks and dinner," said Arju Ahmed of Café Hendrix.
"There will be no special DJs from outside as we have our own DJ. Our in-house DJ will churn out the latest numbers one after the other. We haven't finalized the rates yet," said Joy Prakash Baruah of Kamikaze, a floating discotheque on the Fancy Bazaar ghat.
Similarly Ozone, a new joint that opened recently will be catering to disco and hip-hop aficionados. "We will organize a DJ night, for which we have asked special permission to keep the club open till 12midnight. The rates will be finalized soon," said Dhrubajyoti Barman, the manager of Ozone.
"There will be celebrities like Adam Bedi, Chahat, a Miss India finalist and others at attend our party. We will charge Rs 4,500 for a couple and we will not allow stag entries. The event will be held in complete adherence to the district administration's guidelines," said Sonali, Tarun Arora Entertainment, a local event organising company.