The Best Advice I've Gotten

Pondicherry is known for several things as I have mentioned several times. I think the most important thing though for westerners who aren't interested in eastern spirituality is the tax free sale of alcohol. This gives rise to westerners who live around Tamil Nadu coming to pondy to purchase their booze and take it back to TN. The problem is that TN is an extremely conservative state. The interstate transport of alcohol is forbidden. Of course, the penalty is that one has to surrender his alcohol if caught and probably pay a baksheesh. Well friends I have been privy to the method for getting around this problem.

It is a somewhat well known and easily recognized fact that foreigners (goras = white people) are far more likely to unwittingly bring back booze across state lines (pondy is actually a federal territory, but no matter). So when on a train at the Pondy/TN border trains and buses are often stopped and police search the trains. Who is the first target? You guessed it, the gora! If they see your bottle and want it they can take it. Perhaps you say, "But I was bringing it back for a friend." Too bad, you lose your liquor and probably a couple hundred rupes. What's the secret to not losing your cheaply purchased low quality hooch? Well, simply crack the seal, remove some it (generally by taking a swig) and replace the cap. Stash the bottle in your bag and be on your merry (merrier than before even) way.

What happens in this case is, if you get stopped proclaim, "this bottle is mine." Once the seal is cracked, it's HIGHLY unlikely that this will be smuggler's goods. This is simply an alcoholics personal beverage. Again, let me restate the fact that around these parts, a person who consumes liquor is automatically considered an alcoholic. So, no one wants to buy your partly consumed cheap low quality hooch and you get to keep it, because it's part of your luggage!

I learned this by the way from an Englishman who's been in this part of the world for eight or nine years and has had his drinking privileges revoked forcibly by state border control more than once. He discovered this secret, shared it with me, and off I went. I simply cracked the seal transferred part into another container (without actually drinking any of it) and hid the second container. Easy, peasy, japanesey!