MONTHLY MULLING💡
How Speakeasy Bars Changed History and the Billionaire Raj!
Hi👋 Tapan here.
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Happy Sunday y’all!
I recently took a trip to Iceland with some friends and it was spectacular! The landscape is nothing like I have seen before and then you have the northern lights.
Currently,
📖 What I am reading: Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac
I am currently drawing a lot of parallels between Travis Kalanick and the way Elon Musk is dealing with Twitter.
📺 What I am watching: My complicated relationship with women by Nathaniel Drew
You know sometimes you stumble upon a video that perfectly encapsulates your thoughts on a topic? This is one of them.
It gets increasingly difficult to build deep long-lasting love connections as you grow old. You just don’t meet enough people 🤷🏽♂️
And in the age of dating apps, it’s even more difficult when people seem to value deep interactions even less. We can always swipe away to find the next person 🥲
All this leads to loneliness as we grow old. The thought of having a partner will always remain an attractive idea and not having something deep makes you constantly feel incomplete.
Let’s get started🚀
🤫 Sssshhh… Speakeasy
I love cocktails and naturally, I love speakeasy bars. Today, we will be discussing the history of speakeasies - How one law changed history and led to the rise of cocktail culture in the US! 🥃
In the early 1920s, a law was proposed in the USA that enforced a nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Did the law pass? Yes. How? I am not sure.
The Volstead Act was passed with a majority in the House and the Senate as the 18th Amendment between 1920-1933. It defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited in the US. Not all alcohol was banned, for example, the religious use of wine was still permitted 🤦🏽♂️
Prohibition came into force at 12:00:01 am on January 17, 1920, and the first documented infringement of the Volstead Act occurred in Chicago on January 17, 1920, at 12:59 am 😂
As expected, people didn’t like the idea of giving up alcohol and this led to bootlegging. Bootlegging literally means hiding something illegal in the top part of a tall boot. During the prohibition era, it was a flask of alcohol 👢
It also led to the creation and distribution of poor-quality bootlegged liquor such as bathtub gin. Bathtub gin, as you might have guessed, was brewed in a bathtub so it can be potentially disposed of quickly in case of a raid 🛁
All this bootlegged liquor needed a secret place where it could be served illegally.
Enter, speakeasies 😎
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, was a hidden bar during the prohibition era. They were usually in basements, apartments, or hidden in stores and required patrons to say a password to enter the bar 🤐
Speakeasy bars had to somehow work with the poor quality bootlegged liquor. What did they end up doing? They started serving mixed cocktails!🍸
Before the prohibition era, a lot of “classic” cocktails celebrated the raw taste of high-quality liquor. But during the prohibition era, bartenders started mixing their drinks with mint and citrus juice to reduce the rough taste and smell of bad liquor. Genius!💡
Speakeasy bars also led to a fundamental change in the drinking culture in the US. These illegal bars started allowing people from all races and genders. Speakeasy also led to a radical shift in public alcohol consumption for women.
Today, speakeasy act as a theme for legal cocktail bars serving alcohol, most of the time, in an intimate setting.
So, next time you’re in any new city, search for a speakeasy serving good cocktails and enjoy this piece of history. In case you are ever in NYC, here is my list of speakeasy bars!🗽
💰 Billionaire Raj - Crony Capitalism in India
I recently finished reading Billionaire Raj by James Crabtree which discusses the tycoons in India and how are they in bed with the politicians of the country.
To lay some groundwork, after the end of the British Raj🇬🇧 in India, the Indian government under Jawaharlal Nehru had control of steel, mining, machine tools, water, telecommunications, insurance, and electrical plants, among other industries.
Banks were next under Indira Gandhi - In 1969 all commercial banks holding over INR50 crores (just over £200m in modern money) were nationalised.
This was the Licence Raj🤝 - the system of licences, regulations, and accompanying red tape, that hindered the setup and running of businesses in India between 1947 and 1990.
Tycoons who ran businesses were really close to the politicians (they had to be!) to obtain the licences.
In 1991, the, then-Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh presented a game-changing budget under Prime Minister Narsimha Rao changing new industrial policy and removing many roadblocks that hindered industries from flourishing. Side note, the Indian economic crisis of 1991 is an interesting read.
After the end of Licence Raj🤝, came the Billionaire Raj💰. The existing tycoons and new tycoons who were loyal to the politicians gained “favours” and in return, funded campaigns for the politicians.
When the politicians came into power, they would support the tycoons with friendly policies which helped them grow their businesses.
The crooked politician needs the businessman to provide the funds that allow him to supply patronage to the poor and fight elections. The corrupt businessman needs the crooked politician to get public resources and contracts cheaply. And the politician needs the votes of the poor and the underprivileged. Every constituency is tied to the other in a cycle of dependence.
- Raghuram Rajan
This book was definitely an interesting read giving an interesting perspective on the various issues in governance and regulations in India.
👹 Monster in the Hallway!
Derek Siver in his latest article talks about the idea of make believe.
Kids scream, “Monster in the hallway!”, and hide behind the couch. They stack up cushions for protection and plan their defence. They know it’s not true — there’s not really a monster in the hallway — but it’s exciting to feel the adrenaline of panic, then make a shelter and feel safe.
Similarly,
“I would be creatively prolific and super-productive if I could quit my job.”
“My evil ex dumped me even though I was perfect so that’s why I can never love again.”
Now, these statements might not be true but we like the way they feel to believe.
Following a religion improves your daily actions and connects you to a worldwide community. Same with philosophies, nationalities, norms, money, and concepts like loyalty, passion, and destiny. None of these are true but they are useful.
We should adopt these ideas for their purpose, the way they make us feel, while knowing they are make believe.
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