Drowning Punjab

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It is sad and shameful at the same time.

Aman Ji ,
I have tried to talk to countless people almost on daily baisis as to understand why people in Punjab drink alcohal so much . I have come to following understanding :
1. There is a BIG perception in Punjab that if you drink alcohal then you are ENJOYING yourself . If you do not you are a big BORE , if you are advising against drinking somebody then you are deemed untouchable , you are not invited to dinners, parties
2. There is not much effort on part of religious authorities to tell people to abstain from alcohal . If the (Sikh) religious authorities put even 10% of the effort they put in on promoting vegetarianism then the results will be all very different . Every time I hear somebody speaking then it is always AANDA,MEAT,SHARAB as if eating eggs & chicken is bigger offence than ALCOHAL . What are SGPC & religious authorities trying to do , I fail to understand .
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/punjab/37607-drowning-punjab.html
3. The abstainers are merely trying to save faces in Punjab , sheepishly admitting that they do NOT DRINK as if there is no bigger sin than being an abstainer . Not so long ago ( 1980-1990 )I remember that people used to shun social interaction with a drinker . How drinking has gained so much glory is beyond me , though the role of media cannot be denied .
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37607
There seems to be lack of social commitment even among the women who are most affected by alcohalism to defy alcohal , each of the THEKA & AHATA of Punjab is full in the evening , it is a very sad & depressing sight each day as we return home from work .

Hmm the whole thing shunning complete social interaction might be too much, but the non-drinkers inadvertently find themselves having orange juice in their parties in pubs/club etc. The whole idea of enjoying with drinking seems to come from the peer pressure thing shown so well in this movie. Getting a degree is no longer a measure of your maturity and self-worth, drinking is. Earlier I never understood why people drank so much, but Gurbani says that people are much happier losing their touch with reality and that is all I see.