Wine only alcohol in body, not in spirit

It is customary for politicians to spiritedly show their devotion to the people and elevate them to divine status when elections heave into view. Considering wine is regarded as the drink of the gods, it is not surprising that the Puducherry government has decided to make it more accessible to the hallowed pre-poll aam aadmi via its annual Budget proposals.

Decreeing wine to be alcohol merely in body but not in spirit will make it eligible for more lenient taxation than other Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and, therefore, more affordable for citizenry in search of vinous salvation. It could, however, take copious quaffing for most people to perceive wine in this altered state.

As chief minister N Rangasamy has also proposed the reduction of VAT on cooked nibbles, including sweets and savouries, from 10 per cent to 2 per cent, there will be more reason to convene convivial gatherings to mull over this perceptual transcendence, and raise a toast to (and vote for) the government of good times.

The neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu has already come to regard Puducherry as a spiritual haven, although in a markedly different way from the revered Sri Aurobindo. The reinvention of wine could then see a rise in those coming down the East Coast Road to test (and taste) Puducherry’s ambrosial waters, giving the state coffers an additional high too.