The weekend

“Push? Or pull?” I wonder as I stand facing the heavy doors

I needn’t have, for they open magically for us as we approach. We step inside to find ourselves in a small passage way with a counter where we are expected to pay up. The guard has a screen on which he sees the guests outside and that’s how he knows when to open the door

Hmmm… I think. Nice

It is Saturday night and we are at Poison – one of the more popular and up-market discos, where the rich and the restless of the sleepless Bombay descend in their designer minis to boogey the night away

As we pay, muted sound of heavy-duty beats from somewhere inside filters through the second set of doors… and I can feel the energy levels of the place before I have even set my eyes inside…

“Get your stamp, please”, a beefy guard tells us. We extend our hands, and he stamps the mark of the place on the back of each hand

The second set of doors. This one we push; no magic guard here.

A winding staircase that goes down, down, down… There are colored lights on the side and the side-wall is mirrored. I check out my legs. Nice :-)

I’m wondering if the guys below can see my panties if they look up, and fret for just a few moments. Then I decide no need to worry, since the dress ain’t that short, the lights ain’t bright enough…

Noisy. Smoke-filled. Dark. Good fun. First impressions

We’re going down, down, down. The stairs seem to never end. I imagine the disgrace if I tripped now. But nothing of the sort happens. We go down two levels and then we’re there, and i'm transported to another time and place.

So much like Fire n Ice... only so much bigger

A very large dance floor by Bombay standards. And jam packed with people

A huge smoke-filled hall with large factory-style crisscrossing pipes and beams along the ceiling

The music is loud, loud, louuuuud - a techno number, with an indistinct background of some Hindi song. The bass resonates inside my chest… the beat makes my feet tap automatically

Colored lights, disco lights, shiny balls, laser lights – adding to the pulsating effect of the music

Laser lights sweep through the place and bounce of walls making random patterns as they do. I love them

A throng of people – thousands… arms in the air, hips swinging, feet thumping, heads nodding, in sync with the beat… holding cigarettes, beers, handbags, mobile phones… The music is loud, the human hum/ drone louder. The music makes conversation impossible, but look around, everywhere there are people talking and laughing. Everyone looks happy to be here

A high pedestal on which the famous celebrity DJ stands – stooping onto his console/ equalizers – headphones in place, lips syncing the song he plays, right hand scratching a disc, left hand curled into a fist punching the air – once, two times, three times… head nodding…

We push our way through to reach the bar, and get us drinks.

Drinks procured, standing place procured (which is a mini-miracle in itself), now we begin to enjoy the place. I start to take in the place more closely

I see lots of bare backs and low-rise jeans. Not all backs look attractive though

I see diamonds. Lots of them

Flashy handbags

People dressed strangely

A very fat woman wearing very tight jeans and a very flimsy, flowy top that she really shouldn’t have…

A fat, man in mid-40s (why was he here anyway?), smoking a pipe (???!!!!), in a suit and tie and a gigantic Rolex with a scantily clad PYT next to him, swinging her hips and occasionally brushing against his crotch

A very tall and slim woman in a long red dress, with really garish make-up, fake-looking bangs and poker straight hair, flirting with a clearly smitten man. Realization that the lady’s a man in drag actually. Gross

A very nice looking young couple air-kissing while four others in the group cross-talk to each other

A woman screaming something in a man’s ear trying to be heard over the music

A bunch of teenager boys at the bar, asking for their drinks

A very young girl with cigarette in one hand, glass with orange drink in another. Very pretty, and deadpan expression

A group of girls with little skirts doing a little synchronized sequence

The bartender – passing a drink to and blowing a kiss at a girl

* * *

The song changes, the crowd responds with a roar… clearly, a popular number. The beat is super-peppy and fast. The crowd goes mad. It starts fast. And gets faster by the second. The frenzy rises. The light start flashing…

On off on off on off On off on off on off On off on off on off…

Scenes flash around me in those micro-seconds of light – like a movie in slow-motion…

...Arms up in the air

...A couple kissing

...2 sexily dressed women gyrating suggestively

...My friend grinning

...The DJ bending over

...A wrist with a bling bling bracelet

...Hand with beer can

...A rapper

...A starlet

...A baby-face teenage boy

...A hip shake

...A jump

...A man

...A woman

...Everyone

The frenzy builds. And builds…...and builds. A crescendo…

The beat gets faster… and faster. And lights flash faster and faster

I close my eyes and throw back my head. I think I'm smiling. I feel like my head will explode. I feel good

And then with a loud bang, it’s over. The music stops. The lights come back on. The crowd heaves. Many whistle. Some clap. Women say whoooo! A mass climax. Exhilarating, thrilling and satisfying

* * *
And without a break the next song starts. The DJ plays a string of "ok" numbers which allow the tempo to cool a bit, before he dishes out another that ignites the fire of the crowd again. And the madness starts all over again.

And puppets in his hands, we sway the way he wishes us to. We respond the way he desires. We throw our hands in the air when he says throw your hands in the air, and we say ‘yeah’ when he tells us to 'say yeah’…

The ears hurt, and the smoke stings the eyes. The feet hurt. But we aren’t going anywhere yet… the night is young and the music’s high. We’ve paid a pretty little packet for being here and its time to relish the experience

We get another drink, make a trip to the loo to make us comfy and come right back

Tomorrow morning will be a bitch, but then tomorrow is sometime in the future. For now, its time to get back the party and be one with the thousands, and like everyone else - let go

And that’s what at the end of the day it boils down to. That is what makes it all worth it. The long commute, the high entry fee, the discomfort of the senses.

Let go… it feels so good