A packed floor at the Tantra party. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Morning come, and you are probably busy making that I-won’t-do-it-again resolution for the umpteenth time. But at the back of your mind you know you’ll succumb to Bacchanalian pleasures again next Saturday, only to nurse one hell of a hangover the day after.

But don’t let that take the zing out of your parties forever, for there are ways to hang out after a hangover.

All you got to do is slightly twist the maxim of prevention being better that cure. The trick, they say, is to stick to two standard pegs (120 ml) during the first hour with one small peg every hour thereafter if you are planning to stay out the entire night.

“This way, the alcohol content in your blood is maintained at 0.25 per cent,” says Naveen Pai of Coffee Pai and a licensed bartender from Australia.

Which is also the permissible level of alcohol content in the blood abroad and if a person is charged for drunken driving beyond that level, the bartender who gave the person too much to drink can be sued as well.

Here, however, you are served all that you want and sometimes what you don’t want if you don’t know any better. The usual accompaniments of chips, chanachur and meat-balls served at most bars to go with alcohol are an absolute no-no, warn those in the know, as these fatty snacks absorb water and alcohol itself is dehydrating.

So, it makes better sense to opt for finger foods with watery contents like cucumbers and cherry and pineapple sticks. The more adventurous can also try jhinga wedges with rock salt. A variety of cheeses is the other healthy option. For a more watered-down effect, it’s a good idea to alternate every peg with a glass of water.

Another expert take on playing it safe is to go for a high-protein diet prior to the drinking session, followed by a light snack to round off the evening.

But there’s nothing like the shut-eye treatment. “The best way to get over a hangover is to sleep it off,” says Dr Naresh Goyal, senior consultant with Bhagirathi Neotia Woman & Child Care Centre. “If the symptoms still persist, you’ve got little option but to wait as no matter how many cups of coffee you drink to combat it, the liver will take its own sweet time to digest the alcohol.”

Tabla player Bikram Ghosh, of course, has a way to beat a bad morning after a rollicking party that cannot be emulated: “I put my head between two bricks, beat it with a hammer and chop off the areas that hurt most. When there’s nothing left to hang, there’s no hangover.”

Kiddie party at Cloud 9. Picture by Aranya Sen

Denim brigade

A first timer at a nightclub. Could be a different specie altogether. At the least, it’s like getting a passport into adulthood.

Wednesday evening saw a good number of this specie at Tantra. Otherwise known as the first milestone in achieving the status of party animal.

The reason for the party on Wednesday evening was not important to the 20 somethings flooding the floor. But the effort to look grown up, armed with a cigarette and cellphone (to call home from a quieter spot) made this party a little different from usual Wednesday night gig.

The event was the first year anniversary celebration of Spykar jeans, and who better to invite as guests than the brigade that literally lives in denims.

Beach bums to cool chums

When “just” is a good enough reason to throw a party, how can a little rain play spoilsport?

The theme started out as beach party and stopped short of becoming rain dance at Derek ’Brien’s bash on Friday night at the ITC Sonar Bangla poolside. But for the party people, the transition was smooth, dressed as they were in their beach bum best. Hawaiian shirts and summer dresses, bright colours and sandals was the unwritten dress code of the evening. And those who preferred to stay well covered opted for smart casuals.

Colleagues, associates and friends — including Arun Lal (left, with host), Sharbari Datta and Rita Bhimani — and family braved the gale to reach the cosy do. The Foster’s flowed freely (and the fruit punch, too) before dinner was served. The West View menu was a smash hit, with the octopus and pork tenderloin being grabbed off the barbecue, before the delectable dessert buffet was raided.

Little feet go far

Alisha, a Class V student of Calcutta International School, was shaking a leg on the Cloud 9 dance floor on Saturday. Aashna Shah, who studies in Class II in Calcutta Girls’ School, was swaying her hips to Dil Ding Dong Ding Dole with her friend Aishwarya, a Class III student of Birla High School.

Wondering where the minimum age limit in Calcutta nightclubs has gone? Don’t pull out your moral police badge; these kids were simply having fun at the resto-bar while the sun was still up as part of a four-day summer camp package.

Organised by Bhavna Hemani and Jolly Shah of Fun Camp 7, the camp kicked off on Thursday with 250 children, aged between five and 16. The camp started on Thursday with some fun games for the kids at the Bhawanipore Gujarati Education Society auditorium. On Day 2 the tiny tots had oodles of filmi fun as they were taken to INOX to watch Uff Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai.

Day 3 was the time to disco to the tunes belted out by DJ Suraj. From 2 pm to 6 pm, the place was transformed into an extended dance floor as the little ones decided to groove in great style. There were loads of little Hrithik’s dancing to Aye Mere Dil…, and miniature Karismas tapping their little feet to Mujhko Hui Na Khabar… The kids’ fashion quotient could give many a nightbird a run for their money. Tank tops, capris, spaghettis, off-shoulders, hipsters in whacky prints — it was a trendspotting revelation.

Party Pooper

If you are going to party, party right. There is protocol everywhere, and one of the easiest ways to prove you are not ‘with it’ is to not know your tunes. As one young boy (not yet a man) found when he started asking where he could find this girl, Jamelia, who he had heard was the hottest thing going.