"Do you think it’s an election sop?” whispers the person I have been talking to over many cocktails and much vodka, now a bit hazy. “Er?” I mumble, distracted by the sight of Jagerbombs being lined up for our group at the bustling new High Ultra Lounge in Bangalore. It’s past the Cinderella hour on Saturday. India’s original pub city is partying hard once more. Pubs and bars can now remain open till 1 am on weekends and young Bangaloreans can hardly believe their luck. Hence the tremulous query — “is it an election sop?”If the extension in wining-and-dining deadlines (on a trial basis for three months) is changing the way Bangalore parties (Delhi is also likely to extend its nightlife), all over India, a variety of factors — changing social mores, newer F&B formats, and the economics of it all — are leading to a much deeper and pervasive change: the bar culture in youngistaan is on an upswing — despite taboos and moral policing.It’s not as if the pre-Millennials did not know how to have fun. But instead of house parties, the all-white lounges one frequented to be seen and see, fivestar “afternoon” clubs, surreptitious Old Monk-and-Coke or “Scotch”, the action has moved elsewhere and on to other things.One big change to have come about in this lifestyle, in the past two years or so, is the concept of “party all nights”. A bustling bar culture is the hallmark of any sophisticated city. In Delhi, long dismissed as a cultural “village”, things have changed so much that not only are weekends designated for partying but every evening could well be a Saturday.At Hauz Khas village, for instance, the parking is full on a Tuesday night and cars move bumper to bumper. It’s “ladies’ night” at many establishments in this enclave, popular not just with the ladies out to get their free sickly sweet cocktails but also the gents (obviously), for whom neither the entry nor the drinks are free (tickets hover in the Rs 1,500 per person range).By 11 pm, Fork You, one of the better places in this area full of mediocrity, is so full that you can hardly turn your torso or toe. The bartenders are cheerful, flirty; will even generously pour neat shots straight into your gut. There’s attempted dancing, retro music and an eclectic crowd — from St Stephen’s boys chugging Sula sparkling to chefs, artists, management types...Everyone is in high enough spirits. It doesn’t matter the next day is working. The evening I spend here ends with not just a million invites to similar parties through the week — expat nights, karaoke nights, “crazy Thursday nights” — but also in a memorable ride back home for a friend: Unable to exit the bar on her own two legs, the 25-year-old is escorted back home by the chivalrous bartender!“We get a lot of such cases,” says Viju, an independent bar consultant. “Part of the job for any good bartender is to be able to flirt; he has to have the flair...some convert it, some don’t but it is nobody’s business, everyone is an adult,” he points out.Contrary to the stereotype of the either too-stiff or too-servile restaurant service staff in India, the new bars seem to be spawning a much more international style of engaging with guests. Bartenders and waiters have cool hairdos, sometimes bad accents but are chatty, if not exactly equipped with the flair of Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Their young patrons, in turn, seem more egalitarian than their parents.Despite concerns, there seem far fewer security issues for women enjoying such nightlife. At least in these upmarket enclaves, no one, from parking-lot attendants to fellow revellers, seems inordinately bothered about what a woman is wearing, for instance. Anjali Batra, a 24-year-old PR professional, who parties with friends almost four days a week, says her parents are fine till she gets back at a “reasonable hour of 1 am”.Batra adds that staff at many bars — in Delhi, a notoriously unsafe city for women — can be quite helpful. “Once my friends and I were out in the evening and we landed up talking to this expat woman. Much later in the evening, we got a call from the manager of a bar saying that ‘our friend’ had passed out in the bathroom and could we come and get her. The staff had found her and dialled the last number on her phone. We went, got her and dropped her home.”Ankit Sharma, a 25-year-old party regular, says, “We have a good cab guy and any time anyone, including the girls in our group, needs to be dropped home, we call him. He is very reliable.”India’s archaic drinking laws may peg the legal drinking age much higher, but people start out much younger. Most bars target the 18-35 age group. (One way to gauge a place: the sweeter the cocktails, the younger the crowd is likely to be). While some seedy places are reputed to have school kids bunking tutorials in favour of shots, even chicer ones often rely on young people’s networks to get in the business.A class XII kid of a reputed private school, I randomly encounter, tells me how some of his peers make good money organizing parties at hotel clubs and bars. “They get a percentage of the ticket money. There is this guy, who, till a couple of years ago, would drive in his fancy car and everyone, including the bouncers would greet him warmly. This boy was still in school.” It’s a plausible account.The prevalence of more adult “party organizers” is an open secret. These range from expats looking to make a quick buck to young, enterprising women using social media. Fawad, an Afghan national I meet, “invites” his large network of Facebook and WhatsApp “friends” for regular parties at bars. Drinks for expats and women are free at all these events. “They up the profile of a place, so bars want them,” he says, admitting he gets paid to bring them in.Luckily, more sophisticated establishments rely on firmer tactics to be “different”. From offering unique concepts to having good mixologists and gourmet bar food, the accent is on wowing the audience. Bangalore-based Ajay Shetty, a young investment banker-turned winemaker, who is targeting his Myra wines at the younger, discerning crowd, says that “the explosion in gastronomy has helped the drinking culture come of age. People no longer go to all-you-can-eat at multicuisine restaurants. They are more discerning. Similarly, people now go to specific bars because they get their favourite drink or music there. India is getting pretty international.”At the High Ultra Lounge, it is both the unique setting and F&B that are gamechangers. On the 31st floor of the World Trade Centre, spread over 10,000 sq ft, this is one of the highest and most expansive rooftop bars in India (in cities like Melbourne and London, rooftop bars are quite popular), notwithstanding the likes of Aer and Asilo in Mumbai or Qbar in Chennai.You could sit indoors in the lounge-y set-up or move to the terrace watching the skyline. “It reminds many of Sirocco (the plush rooftop bar at the Lebua, made famous in the film Hangover) in Bangkok,” admits Nirupa Shankar, director at Brigade Hospitality that owns the space. “But it is much more and can be different things to different people.”There’s a chef onboard all the way from Zuma Miami, a Japanese restaurant. But the mixology is the highlight. Guruprashanta, the young bartender, has innovative cocktails such as Mother Nature (rum, celery, fresh pineapple, it comes in a bamboo shell), or Unfinished Business (in a box filled with oak and apple cedar wood smoke) as his signatures but will also customize your drink.The emphasis on mixology is in sync with another big change. Instead of Black Label or beer, young consumers are willing to try interesting cocktails. It’s not just the women drinking mojitos or cosmos. Younger men too are trying exotic mixes.In Chennai, Flying Elephant, spread over seven levels, is a big hit for its unique space and innovative drinks. In Delhi, the 1920s’ style jazz lounge, PCO, a speakeasy, is the most sought-after post-dinner address. Sinkable couches, a cigar room, red telephone box toilets and a discerning crowd, including the occasional filmstar, are the highlights as also the cocktails: Prohibition-era classics — Mint Juleps, Old Fashioned etc.With every F&B entrepreneur worth his salt investing in bars — given higher profit margins; instead of about 20% that a highquality restaurant makes, a good bar can hope for a 40% profitability on an average — concepts are becoming increasingly attention-grabbing: From gastro pubs started by star chefs-turned-entrepreneurs (AD Singh-Manu Chandra-Chetan Rampal’s Monkey Bar is on an expanding spree) to Ashish Kapur’s (of the Yo! China fame) Wine Company, that offers liquor (including top labels) at almost cost price, to unique standalones like Charlies Stock Exchange bar (prices of drinks move up and down depending on the direction stock prices move).Another new trend is the neighbourhood bars. In India, drinking in bars has been predominantly occasion-led. Until now. With more Millennials, like their global counterparts, looking for postwork tipple and bonding with friends and colleagues, there’s been a sprouting of neighbourhood bars like Harry’s, a Singapore-based chain.Because bars want to broaden the base of consumers, prices of cocktails (at least in an overpriced market like Delhi-NCR) have actually gone down. The new normal is Rs 300 per cocktail instead of the Rs 500 earlier.Women and alcohol in India have always had a strained relationship. But as more women enter the workforce and make independent choices, an emerging pubbing segment is women-only groups. Kamini Singh, a business development professional in Delhi, says she goes out about twice a week in girls-only groups. “There is always attention but things are safer now,” she adds. It’s a far cry from an evening, almost a decade ago, when I had scooted out of a government vend after buying a bottle of wine — intimidated.