Haath ma che monghi tambaku, ne aakhon ma paani, bewafa lockdown tari meherbani. In March, when there were a few cases of coronavirus in the country, an undue advantage of the situation was taken by the sellers of masks and hand sanitizers, as they had increased the prices, thereby, cheating their customers during an emergency time. While masks and sanitizers are the necessity, Gujarat is currently part of the price hike in alcohol. Gujarat is a dry state but, beyond the legal documentation, the scenario is quite different. In fact, the presence of alcohol has seeped into many Gujarati songs too. If you pull the right strings, you can lay your hands, on branded alcohol too. The nationwide lockdown has driven people to the edge and put the alcohol-drinkers in quite a frenzy. Even the tobacco addicts are having a hard time due to the lockdown. The prices have surged and many are ready to pay any amount just to stock up on their daily dose of nicotine. The

Author-Shlok Talati