License issues or ‘too-peppy’ problems: what’s silencing Khan Market’s music?

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 12 Agustus 2014 | 22.10

This weekend was the dullest that Khan Market has seen in a long time, and it wasn't the rain that played wet blanket. The Delhi Police seems to have developed a major dislike for 'loud and peppy music' which, according to them, causes people to dance when they are two pegs down, which therefore leads to brawls. So, the cops rained on Khan Market's weekend parade by ordering all venues - including restaurants and cafes - to shut down their background music if they did not have permission from the licensing branch of the Delhi Police, a rule establishments have heard for the first time. Regulars and venue owners were, understandably, not quite ecstatic.
On Saturday afternoon, every eatery in the market received a notice about the aforementioned music rules (see picture), which was followed by surprise checks by the cops the same night. To avoid any trouble, restaurants and pubs kept their music systems packed on Saturday night. When DT visited Khan Market on Sunday, we saw empty lanes and quiet eateries - a rare sight for the place on a weekend - with panicked managers and waiting staff working in silence. While the new-found rule was being followed sincerely, the reasons behind the same changed at every venue, with managers speculating on everything from Independence Day preparations to the need for a Public Performance License (PPL).
While venue owners are acquiring last-minute PPLs now, that might not solve their problems, since there's no clarity on whether this is a copyright issue - where a PPL is required to play music commercially - or a law and order issue, where the police can ask for music to be shut even when the venue has a PPL. When we spoke to the Delhi Police, copyright seemed far from their mind. "When we are not there, they start playing loud music. Do peg ke baad, aur high peppy music par, yeh log dance karne lagte hain. Such things lead to pub brawls. We don't have any problem with light music," SBS Tyagi, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi District), told us.

Here's what Khan Market insiders told DT about its most silent Sunday till date:
The website of the Licensing Unit of the Delhi Police mentions no such license
While the police say sending such notices is a routine thing, the eateries at Khan Market claim that this is the first time they have got any such notice. Navneet Kalra, owner of multiple locations in Khan Market (Khan Chacha, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Town Hall and Harry's Bar), said, "This is the first time a notice has come for music. If we do an event, we take the PPL, to run a disco, we take permission, but since when do we need permission to play background music?"
"The website of the Licensing Unit of the Delhi Police has no mention of any such license," says Navneet Kalra. "And even if we need a license, the police needs to give us some time. Supposing 20 people have reserved seats at my place knowing the ambience that we have, and when they come, they discover that there is no music and the place is dead, they'll be disappointed. What do I tell them? Aisa bhi nahi hai ki recently yahan koi incident hua ho, isiliye police ne yeh notice diya hai. Khan Market has the best crowd. We pay a bomb for the PPL, and there's no other license required to play 'music in the background while serving food.' To run an eatery, we need four licenses - from the NDMC, an NOC from the fire department, a tourism license and a license from the police. This license to play music in the background is the newest license I'm hearing about. Today, we are hearing that the police sent the notice to everyone by mistake. It was probably supposed to be for pubs and discos, but they sent it to all eateries too."

Jo loud music bajate hain, unko problem hogi
Most eateries were confused about who the notice was really meant for. Ashok Bapu Parit, assistant manager, Restaurant, Smoke House Deli, said, "Everyone in this market has got the notice to get a license for playing music in the background. The police came on Saturday to check who was playing music, and asked us to stop it. We always play soft music, so I don't think the notice is meant for us. Jo loud music bajate hain, unko problem hogi. Sunday ko humne music bahut hi slow rakha hai, ab baat chal rahi hai. We are still trying to figure out what the matter is and what permissions we need."

Police claims about dancing false
When we went to Boombox as customers and asked why the music was so low, an employee said, "The music system has a problem, we're fixing it." When we said we knew about the notice, the guy said, "Kuch nahi, Delhi Police ko paise chahiye isiliye yeh sab kar rahe hain." On condition of anonymity, another employee at Boombox said, "On Saturday, the police sent a notice first, and said that they'd come to check if we were playing music. At night, they did come to check, and we were not playing any music. Background music is a must so that people don't have to listen to conversations from other tables. Police claiming that people get high after drinks and start dancing is entirely false. Utni jagah hi kahan hai ki log dance karne lagenge? You can see how close the seats are here. Other than that, we will apply for the PPL on Monday."

Guests upset with the silence, but what can we do?
Ranjit, manager, Cafe Out of the Box, told us, "It was because of Route 04 that all of us have got the notice. Kal woh din mein band bhi tha. They play loud music and so everyone has got the notice. Now, we'll apply for two licenses - the PPL, which our DJ will apply for individually, and the other is the permission to play music till midnight. Had we been aware of these licenses, we would have applied earlier. This is our third year in Khan Market and it is the first time that we have got any such notice. Guests have been asking us why it's so silent, and we're telling them it's a new police rule. But what can we do, atmosphere toh spoil ho hi raha hai."

Ashish, manager of Pure Punjab, added, "It is strange that even Indian restaurants are being asked not to play background music, which is usually a ghazal or a Sufi song. Customers come to eating outlets to relax. You can imagine how boring it would be now."

Maybe it's because of Independence Day
However, Route 04 dismissed allegations of being responsible for the police notice. Amresh Kumar, manager, Route 04, told us, "Everyone has got the notice, not just us. It's a rumour that we were shut in the afternoon. Hum log itna loud music play nahi karte. Maybe it is because of Independence Day. I don't know anything yet, and our seniors are looking into the matter. What's interesting is that our CP branch has got no such notice and we're playing the same music there, and suggesting to people who are complaining that they go to our CP branch."

We will apply for PPL
An employee at Soy Restaurant and Bar said, "Since Saturday, we haven't played any music. The police asked us to get a license for playing music in the background. We don't have the PPL, which we'll apply for on Monday. They should have given us some time, at least, and if we still hadn't listened, then they could have come and stopped the music."

We want to curb pub brawls: Police
The police say they have their reasons. SBS Tyagi, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi District), told us, "We carry out such drives regularly. Whenever we find anyone guilty, we fine them. This is not the first time a notice like this has been circulated. For playing background music, we have asked eateries to take permission from the joint commissioner of police (licensing). When we are not there, they start playing loud music. They may not have a proper dance floor, lekin do peg peene ke baad, aur high peppy music par yeh log dance karne lagte hain. Such things lead to pub brawls. As long as it's light music, we don't have any problem. But they don't stick to it, aur agar police nahi hai, toh they violate the law." When asked about eateries complaining that they've never heard of such a notice, he replied, "We can't be present everywhere. If these eateries are saying they never got the notice before, ask them, did they violate the law before? I have a list of places that we have challaned in the past. They don't have the license to run a disco, but they were running it. We've fined them."

This is like sitting in your dining room: guests
Aakriti Sharma, a marketing professional we met here, said, "We came here today with my cousins as an after-Rakhi party. I had no idea about something of this sort happening. My cousins are from Bengaluru and I picked Khan Market as the Delhi place to show them, which has turned out to be such a bad idea. A place without music is like sitting in your dining room and eating. Actually, no - you have TV there. Anyhow, we're going to either CP or South Delhi now."
Gautam Garg, another patron, added, "The music makes or breaks the place. The food and drinks are usually the same everywhere, but at least for us, we like a place on the basis of the music it plays. We've been coming to Khan since college and this is the first time we've seen a problem here. I hope they sort out whatever the mess is because I don't want to lose a favourite place in the city." Mitali Taneja, a software engineer, said, "There are very few places in the city where you can go without worrying about the kind of crowd or how to get there, and Khan is one of them. The managers told us that this is a temporary problem and I really hope that's the case. Otherwise, no one will come back to a place if they know it has no music. I really don't want Khan to lose its charm."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Khan Market,Delhi Police


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