Waiting to say cheers

Akhil was one of those who were crestfallen when the UDF government had brought in their policy to ban hard liquor from most of the bars in the State. No, Akhil was not an alcoholic but a bar waiter. With great difficulty, he found a job in South Africa but could not get used to the “harsh climate and alien working conditions”. “I couldn’t save anything from the salary I was being paid there.That’s when I got to know that the bars are being re-opened and I decided to return gladly,” he says.
The re-opening of 77 bars in the State on July 2 has provided cheer – not just for tipplers but also hundreds of bar staff like Akhil. While it is only a week since these ‘watering holes’ have started functioning, the waiters see it as a blessing as many were struggling to find alternative jobs when the bars remained shut.
With new licences being granted, the immediate move by several bar managements were to re-employ their staff, a decision that was welcomed by the bar attendants in Kochi such as 55-year-old Shashi, who has been out of job since August 2014.
“I had worked as a bar waiter for 30 years, and my family depended on my earnings. It became extremely difficult for us when I lost my job. This was a fairly comfortable job for me at my age. Taking up another physically taxing job was impossible,” says Shashi, who is back as a waiter in a popular bar in Kochi.
Meanwhile, Shashi’s colleague Saji tells us that the duo are waiting for the rest of the ‘old gang’ to return. “It’s only been four days but the business is really catching up. Some of the previous employees whom the management contacted are about to join in a week or so as they live outside the city,” he says.
Bar attendant Joji Thomas says, “I had worked for a decade in the same bar, so getting back here again after being unemployed for a while along with my previous colleagues is an enjoyable affair, nonetheless.”
Some of them were in fact pleasantly surprised to see their workplaces get an overhaul. “Several restaurants were renovated to acquire the new licence. We now have an executive bar in addition to the regular bar where we used to work,” says Shashi.