‘Tis the season to be jolly, well, if you happen to be in India that is. For the western world, Christmas is still some time away. But this is perhaps the best time to be in India, for a mix of reasons, each as convincing as the next. The social life cycle of an average Indian takes a more or less predictable path all through the season from hereon and this is what most of us will experience.

1.      Festive Follies: The festive season means a lot lesser today than ever before but it still holds sway over a large chunk of the population. One main reason why even atheists believe in the power of Piety is because most working folk receive their bonuses in this season and who hasn't, one time or another, prayed for some extra money? All that spare moolah opens up a whole new avenue to spend on ridiculous items that we never needed in the first place. Amongst those, the extravagance of eating and drinking well. Spot on!

2.      Diwali Parties: The extra money is perhaps too much for most of us to handle. We find ways of squandering it even being reckless with it. The best thing therefore to do is to gamble it away. In this way, we still do stand a somewhat slim chance of getting back not our but also someone else's share of extravagance. The parties are marked by two main things:

a.     Long hours at card tables: People display the stamina of a Decathlon champ when battling the odds of suites and sequences. I have seen people glued for the entire length of nights without as much as a few seemingly annoying toilet breaks.

b.     Super equipped bars: When drinking at home, one luxury which can be showered generously is a well stocked bar. Over time, the spirits have gotten finer and the bar set-ups more extensive. This is a good sign - it shows people are upgrading their taste buds and treating themselves as also their friends to better tipple. Earlier confined to whiskies and vodkas, today, even wines are benefitting from this ‘uplifting tradition'.

3.      Weatherwise: The agreeable weather is perhaps the most important factor that brings all this together seamlessly. Minus the heat outside which can drive a man delirious on a single drink, it is much more relaxing to unwind with a little copa or two and not fear a hangover the size of Chicago. Red wines are perfectly chambré in the evenings; at least in Delhi, Mumbai may still have some time to go.

4.      Tourism: The maximum number of tourists will be flocking our beaches and bars between now and early Spring. This further injects a whole new force into our F&B veins, providing more business than any time in the year. Clubs are alive, restaurants manage in spite of crappy food and shoddy service - the feel-good factor is hard to not notice.

5.      Wedding Season: Marriage is the most lasting and torturing of family traditions that has managed to survive through the times and for some reason, the onset of winters seems to be more reason than usual to copulate. So much for hot water bottles and duvets. Mind you, given the alternative form of body heat, I wouldn't bother with such either. Here again, there has been an upwardly evolution in the quality of wines being served. Starting with crude table wine plonk, today it is safe to expect a decent Rhone red or an array of New World wines.

6.      Momentum: From now till we usher in the New Year, it is celebration-is-in-the-air sorta' season. Which is a great period for all sorts of sales and discounts. The build starts pre-Diwali, stays fuelled through marriages and sangeet sessions galore and finally culminates with a big New Year bash, which is when most of us resolve to lose weight and never drink again, or till next week, whichever comes first.

7.      Falling Markets: This last one has not been exactly a good reason. It wasn't even on the charts and has really rained on many a parade. Mostly, it has deterred people from spending on anything apart from financial security. But what is secure in today's erratic economic climate? When blue chip investments and real estate start failing and falling apart, the only guarantee you have is that the nice Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles you picked up will still taste just as good today. Sometimes, a good wine can be the best spirit-lifter that you can have by your side.

So there you have it - not foretelling, just calculated assumptions and observations. It just shows that come October, we start consuming and nothing really slows us down. In other words, stop feeling fat and jump right in- the water and wine are just fine.