Youths pool in for an overdose of fun

But it’s not. This is pool. Not pool. But po-ol. The breeze is cooled. The deck plays the latest hits. Hard liquor is rarely served but you can get a coke and burgers and sandwiches. There’s nicotine in the air and good camaraderie all around (thump on the table for a good shot). The first time I noticed the potential attraction for the game wasmaybe a year ago, at the Raspberry Rhinoceros nightclub out in Juhu. The tables had come in a few months before, but already a band of regulars had developed. They were youngish men, somewhere in their late twenties stalking around the table, whipping back their hair and self-consciously checking after every shot, to see if anyone (read anyone female) was watching.

Since then, the way in which parlours have mushroomed (something like video libraries or game parlours a decade ago) indicates that this is one American import that is likely to take root here. In fact, my guess is that it will not be restricted to Mumbai but flourish all over, including small-town India. The main reason is that the game is overwhelmingly male. It is not as if women can’t play or are not allowed to, but for some mysterious reason almost 95 per cent of the crowd in the parlours is male. Which means it can percolate down to classes where restrictions on mixed partying and on women going out are high in a way nightclubs, forinstance, cannot. Second, the cost doesn’t seem prohibitive. All it requires is a room and a table — at the moment they are opening up in garages, shops and even bungalows. And at Rs 50 a frame (loser usually pays) it can be quite a draw.

Good/Bad? Well, starved as we are of leisure options, one more should be welcome. Also, pool is a game that requires skill and concentration, certainly far more than many other pastimes. Then why does it make me feel somewhat uncomfortable?

I don’t know if it’s the me-too angle that bothers me. Pool, bowling, seem to come straight out of American folklore. I’m no supporter of the swadeshi lobby, yet Uncle Sam’s undue cultural influence over the world does set my teeth on edge. Even more worrying is the addictive nature of the game. If you’ve seen the movies (particularly the Paul Newman-Tom Cruise starrer, Colour of Money) then you’ve seen the hustling, the obsession and the stakes that can creep into it.

I don’t know. Afficionados will protest that it’sa great way to spend an evening. Parents could, rightly claim, that anything that gets youngsters away from television sets and excessive drinking is worth encouraging. Pool, bowling, net cafes, skydiving — finally we have some alternatives. After all, youngsters are entitled to have some fun.

Sure they are. But there is such a thing as having too much fun. Over the last few years I’ve met scores of Mumbai kids from diverse backgrounds. Hard working careerists in the daytime, they tend to be inveterate pub crawlers at night. There is no dearth of energy, ambition and even, in many cases, money. Given such a surfeit, is it too unreasonable to suggest that at least a little bit of it be spent in something more socially useful and relevant?