Covid-19: Singing bars in Kolkata beat the blues with launches, expansion

KOLKATA: Even when several businesses are finding it challenging to operate during the pandemic and battle uncertainties caused by restrictions every few months when cases surge, several new singing bars have opened in the Chandni-Esplanade area and many existing ones have expanded.
The Chandni-Esplanade area in the central business district has the highest number of singing bars in the city which transform the area as the evening approaches.Bouncers take positions outside the gates and singers start arriving in batches. Owners have decorated the façade with bright lights to attract guests that lend the place a carnivalesque feel.

According to owners of several singing bars, the area provides certain advantages over other places like better connectivity, an existing market due to presence of iconic eateries and bars and thin residential population.
Now newer outlets have opened to cash in on the footfalls the area attracts due to the existing singing and non-singing bars.
Kick, beside the iconic Chung Wah close to Chandni Metro station, is the latest to open in the area. The liquor shop that existed earlier has made way for the bar. “We have opened the place a few weeks ago and the response was good till the third wave struck. Business was good till the Christmas weekend,” said one of the owners.
The famous Sagar Restaurant and Bar recently changed hands and the new owners have renovated the place and converted one floor into a singing bar. “The ground floor is for families who can enjoy their food and drinks. The first floor has been converted into a singing bar with live music,” said one of the new owners of the place.
Rhythms on Waterloo Street has added another floor to the existing one on the ground floor. “The place has comfortable seating and also helps in social distancing in the time of pandemic,” said a manager. Opening of another singing bar on Ganesh Chandra Avenue was postponed after surge in cases late last year.