No more shots, please! Here's why Indians are ditching alcohol

Anamika A Delhiwalididi from Delhi said on X last month ldquoMy husband has stopped drinking after COVID Surprisingly his friends have stopped visiting us and rarely invite him to gettogethers We have normalised drinking to such an extent that people have started thinking itrsquos the only way to mingle with friendsrdquoA robust 67 lakh views sparked the following conversation ldquoThe reason I am not invited by my friends when they plan to meetrdquo commented Dhruv Aggarwal ldquoWell they were never his friendshellip friends donrsquot stop being friends over drinking habitsrdquo reasoned Diggy AnkotiThis took us down the clean living road specifically the one sans alcohol to check whether it really was as lonely The quiet sober rebellion comes at a time when Indiarsquos alcohol consumption could put a bibulous Irish to shameAnkit Vengurlekar executive editor Amazon former journalistAs per the International Wine and Spirits Record IWSR Drinks Market Analysis India accounts for a little over one per cent of volume growth of total alcohol consumption in 2022 globally spirits volumes increased by over 12 per cent with beer up to 38 per cent wine consumption is over 19 per cent and readytodrink mixers is above 40 per cent Grand industry numbers notwithstanding the glass is more empty than fullWhen Pushkaraj Shirke left the boozy world of advertising for his first love fitness he also gave up lager ldquoItrsquos been seven years sincerdquo says the Andheri resident ldquoI drink twice a year nowmdashon my birthday and maybe New Yearrsquos eve I never really liked it I just did it because I didnrsquot want to be left out especially early in my career where networking revolved around drinking Since I had long realised that it doesnrsquot do much for me it was easy to let it gordquoThe career switch made it easier for him to transition to two drunken nights a year ldquoIn the fitness industry people are more accepting of healthy choicesrdquo says the parttime commentator for Ultimate Fighting Championship matches ldquoMany donrsquot even bat an eyelid when I tell them I donrsquot drink In advertising though I was treated as if I was a weirdo if I refused to drink when wooing clients So I went out and found my own tribe of weirdosrdquo Shirke informs he has very few colleaguesfriends from his advertising days both because he realised that resisting their insistence to have a drink was too exhausting and he had found a new set of friends who matched his wavelengthAlso ReadMidday Explains The sober curious movement is here to stayNetworkingNow founded by Shaan A Khanna is a WhatApp subscription membership for entreprenous and founders where networking is based around acitivities like a chocolate tasting or a breakfast mixer PicAtul KambleAlcohol monitoring apps such as DrinkControl and MyDrinkaware support this wave of abstinence In the precise words of the latter Whether you want to cut down your drinking drink less to lose weight or go totally alcoholfree our app can help you meet your goalsIn 2023 MyDrinkaware released numbers that it had been downloaded nearly three lakh times since their 2021 launchFormer journalist now executive editor at Amazon Ankit Vengurlekar moved to Bengaluru from Mumbai and stayed there as the city boded well with his choice to go completely alcoholfree ldquoBengaluru has places like Cubbon Park and comparatively a lot more open space than Mumbai which is why though I had a tough time adjusting initiallymdashthe tradeoff is much better for me The media industry is no stranger to networking with drinks and that is what I did until a few years ago when I moved to Bengalururdquo he says But the biggest change for Vengurlekar was adopting a militant approach to alcohol A refusal to attend events that serve alcohol or even go on dates in the evening ldquoI donrsquot want to be with someone who is drinking instead of engaging with me meaningfully I am present fully during my dates and I expect the same from them so most of my dates are either for breakfast lunch or coffee And Irsquom very clear that the noalcohol rule is nonnegotiable While what people do in their private time is their business I donrsquot find it too unreasonable to draw boundaries when they are with merdquoDeepika Prabhu right has worked through her anxiety and limited her alcohol intake with the help of her friend Radhika Dhawan PicAtul KambleBut hasnrsquot that affected his social circle or the way he has been networking in a new city ldquoNordquo he says ldquoIn fact I have gained so much more than I ever did at those drunken networking events where half of the things we spoke about were forgotten by next morningrdquoThe 41yearold is a founding member of a WhatsApp group called the ldquoWeekendersrdquo with 72 members with 65 per cent women in the city that focuses on networking with clean lifestyle choiceshabits ldquoNow my weekends start earlier than weekdaysrdquo he says ldquoFor example I am going for a networking hike at 5 am this Saturday I find more meaningful connections with those who like me want to concentrate on a clean liferdquoAs for losing friends post his alcoholfree decision four years agomdashldquoGood riddancerdquo is Vengurlekarrsquos reaction who refuses to spend time with those who do not match his new life philosophyAnkit Vengurlekar extreme right with his WhatsApp group ldquoWeekendersrdquo networking over padel instead of drinksShirke took the social ostracisation punch harder It took some time to get used to and to deflect people admonishing arguing and finally leaving him out of the social circle ldquoIt definitely hurt at the beginningrdquo he says ldquoThere was a lot of lsquoWhyrsquo and lsquoJust one drinkrsquo Unfortunately for them I am a bit stubborn no one could push me into drinking It did affect networking until I found a workaround I began to get picky about which events to attend and after a year or so choose quality over quantityrdquoSimilar sentiments underline Shaan A Khannarsquos NetworkingNow a largely noalcohol networking collective that has existed for over seven years A paid membership via WhatsApp with 3500 members in their midtwenties to 40s helps entrepreneurs and allied professions such as corporate communication personnel mingle at breakfast mixers without having to sacrifice onersquos liver at the altar of networkingldquoThe Number One rule is lsquoDo not get drunkrsquordquo says Khanna ldquoWhich is why we have consciously taken away temptation by having only one or two events in six months that involve alcoholmdashjust a Diwali or Christmas party Thatrsquos pretty much itrdquo Even these have an alcohol limitPushkaraj Shirke gave up drinking over seven years ago when he shifted careers from advertising to fitness PicNimesh DaveAll the other events two to three per month are dry ldquoThe dry hightea and chocolatetasting events we had this week were attended by 30 to 40 peoplerdquo says the Colaba resident who says that peoplersquos reliance on alcohol to relax and mingle has been decreasing ldquoPeople are more confident in spaces where they might not know anyone they know who they want to connect with and go for it Relaxing via alcohol is no longer a networking needrdquo she tells us over the phoneI could drink any guy under the tablerdquo says Deepika Prabhu a freelance publicist who lives in Thane ldquoWhen I was young I wanted to party be cool in with the hip crowd and so I drank But there comes a time when you want to grow up and dancing on table tops is not as appealingrdquoThe turning point for the 42yearold came at 33 when she was diagnosed with clinical anxiety ldquoAfter a drink I would sense a loss of control causing me to panicrdquo she says clearly reliving those moments Since she wasnrsquot addicted Prabhu could go cold turkey overnightVinam BhagatAt first she downplayed her abstinence at high networking events ldquoI would request a Diet Coke on rocksrdquo she says ldquoA few years back I asked for a 30ml peg and soon it became a jokemdashlsquoWhy not a 15 mlrsquo my friends would sayrdquoA 2019 studymdashCoOccurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Anxiety Bridging Psychiatric Psychological and Neurobiological Perspectivesmdashrevealed that 50 per cent of people who have anxiety are prone to using alcohol as a crutch leading to Alcohol Use Disorder AUDPrabhursquos networking strategy now is to go in early mingle make a few contacts and get out in under 60 minutes flat ldquoItrsquos also how I have largely escaped the burden of being the designated driverrdquo she says The acerbic publicist didnrsquot have a drop of alcohol for six years in the last two years she has had a drink or two in safe spaces with friends who know about her diagnosis ldquoI donrsquot know when I last had a drink but I also donrsquot want to run away from something out of fear So I only drink with friends who can squeeze my hand and anchor me if I feel loss of control creep in which it hasnrsquot yetrdquo she chuckles dryly Meditation aids Prabhursquos clean livingVinam Bhagat a Yoga Vichy instructor and certified nutritionist from Kharghar says ldquoMany people with high stress jobs burning the midnight oil realise that a drink does not relax them In fact it makes things worse You are constantly putting your chakras out of sync with bad eating habits no exercise and then instead of doing something for your body you ply it with alcohol Alcohol is the worst a city professional can do to an already wrecked system Someone somewhere told us that it will help us relax and we believe ithelliprdquoRadhika Dhawan a mindset coach specialises in reframing beliefs and helps to set goals while avoiding labels such as ldquoissuesrdquo ldquoproblemsrdquo replacing them with a less defeatist vocabulary like challenges She worked with Prabhu to tackle the latterrsquos anxiety and towards better choicesldquoThe way we approach networking is evolving and people are becoming more open to options beyond just grabbing drinksrdquo says Dhawan of the movement to grow in a profession without the haze of alcohol ldquoClients especially entrepreneursfounders between 35 and 50 are finding that meaningful connections can be built in more diverse environmentsrdquoFor many such selfstarters their job is a lonely one involving playing many roles until success facilitates the hiring of a team But creative workarounds are always possible One client met a potential investor for an early morning walk in the latterrsquos amenityrich society ldquoOthers are opting for activities like padel or pickleball in Colaba Juhu or Bandra These alternatives are not only more accessible but also offer opportunities for building deeper more meaningful connectionsrdquo says DhawanDhawan decided to work in the specialisation of helping professionals with a better work approach if they are stuck and gives them tools via goal setting This was sparked by the lack of direction she had felt as an entreprenuer Her clients include not only those in India but in other countries where professionals seems to feel that they are not sure where their careers are headedThese healthy networking choices are supported by data found in 2019 by market research company NUMRmdashabout 33 per cent of millenials spend more than Rs 4000 on health and wellness every monthShirke believes that the alcohol industry has often through false advertising often handed people either excuses or reasons to get drunk and hopes that people are finally seeing through alcoholrsquos false advertising Shirke brings to notice one of the widely held beliefs that a glass of red wine provides one with antioxidants and works as an antiinflammatory ldquoHow can a glass of wine that costs you R1000 have more antioxidants than a single tablet that might have the same ingredients for much lesser The wine thing is one of the biggest lies we were fed it was complete bullstrdquo he states unapologeticallyCheers to thatIndiarsquos booze consumption5 bnalcohol consumption in India in 2020621 bnestimated alcohol consumption of India by 2025