Guarding the night

This son of a jute mill worker travels three hours every day to reach his workplace. First a bicycle ride from his home to Halisahar station,then a train to Bidhannagar and then a bus to City Centre 2 at Rajarhat.

Chaudhury,who earlier worked with another private security company and kept vigil at Oberoi Grand Hotel,says he didn’t build his muscles pumping iron at the gym. “I played a lot of cricket and football in school and do freehand exercises. Who says you can get muscles only by lifting weights?” he asks.

As the night starts getting younger,guests start trickling in to have a good time at Maaya. Chaudhury frisks the men,who sport a disgusted expression and am-I-a-criminal look,and lets them into the world of bright lights and loud music,while Paromita Maity,the lady bouncer,checks the women patrons.

Security has been stepped up all around the city as the Kolkata nightlife has been under scanner with the rape at Park Street and the ensuing midnight curfew imposed by the excise department. Kolkata,however,has in the past seen party hoppers frolic till 3 a.m. till a ban a couple of years ago clipped the afterhours. That ban was later removed and disc hoppers could order their drink as late as 1.45 a.m. on weekends in a city that’s considered ‘safe’.

“These guests have all been through an earlier round of security check at the hotel entrance. This is just an extra precaution we take to ensure safety for everyone at Maaya,” Chaudhury says.

The number of bouncers depends on the guest footfall. As soon as more patrons start to come in,security and bouncer supervisor Subhendu Paul,who looks dapper in a suit like a business executive ready for a board meeting,informs his boss on the walkie-talkie.

Within minutes,security in-charge R B Gurung saunters in,followed by two more bouncers,who enter the nightclub to provide the extra vigil.

“This is how we run things here. If the security supervisor feels more personnel are required,he calls me and I make sure he gets the extra manpower to keep stock of the situation. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Gurung,who has earlier served in both the army and the air force.

After a couple of hours of duty at the entrance,Chaudhury moves inside Maaya to keep an eye on the guests. Another bouncer replaces him.

“This is a decent crowd. Usually the problem starts when people don’t know when to stop drinking. They come in and take a few drinks more than they can handle. This creates all sorts of problems. Some act funny,some feel all the women around are in love with them. Some simply puke. We have strict instructions not to use force. We see someone trying to act smart with a girl,we politely ask them not to. If they still persist,we escort them out of the premises,after taking the required permission from the supervisor,” says the bouncer,while scanning the dance floor for possible trouble makers.

A hotel guest is usually taken to his room if he is too drunk. If he misbehaves and tries to act tough with the bouncers or makes a pass at a fellow patron,he could be escorted out of the hotel premises depending on the nuisance he has caused. A drunken patron,who is not checked in with the hotel,is dropped home. And out you go if you act tough and funny.

“We act according to the situation. Even though ‘bouncing’ is the catch word in the term bouncer,we don’t raise our hands on patrons. It’s against hospitality ethics. We get regular training from the hotel management and the security in-charge. Around a month ago,there was a party where a group of underage boys and girls came in. We immediately asked them to leave. When they raised a hue and cry,we just led them out,” says Chaudhury.

Unlike his colleagues in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai,who have to worry about visitors with guns and even bottles as weapons and don’t know from where the next blow might come,this Kolkata bouncer seems to be scared of puke-at-will patrons.

As Maaya shuts down at midnight,thanks to the West Bengal government,Chaudhury walks away. He has to wake up in the wee hours to catch the first train to Halisahar. He will be back again to ensure a safe,trouble-free Kolkata nightlife.