Dry days—the holidays you will come to dread, if you weren’t smart enough to stock your bar up beforehand, that is.
Around 10 days of the year, we receive a pretty special phone call from our local wine shop, Deepak Wines. “Madam/ Sirji, kal dry day hai,” they warn us, checking in to see what we’d like to stock up with. The parental concern is almost palpable, and we couldn’t be more grateful for it. But not everybody is lucky enough to have such a responsible Wine Shop around the corner, so we decided to make things just a little bit easier for you. In our country, as per the Alcohol Laws of India, we have a series of dry days, depending on the state you live in. While the need for dry days during things like election days are not lost on us, there are several others that seem utterly ridiculous.
Dry days will not stop us from drinking to our fill, and making merry. For those who wish to undertake this oath with us, here’s a list of days when you’re unlikely to find alcohol anywhere. Mark the dates on your calendar, so you can stock up in advance:
January 14-15: Makar Sankranti
January 26: Republic Day
January 30: Martyr Day
February 10: Swami Dayanand and Saraswati Jayanti
February 19: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti
March 4: Maha Shivratri
March 20: Holi
April 14: Ram Navami and Ambedkar Jayanti
April 17: Mahavir Jayanti
April 19: Good Friday
May 1: Maharashtra Day
May 12: Buddha Purnima/ Vesak
June 4-5 : Eid-ul-fitr
July 12: Ashadhi Ekadashi
July 16: Guru Purnima
August 11-12: Bakrid
August 15: Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan
August 24: Krishna Janmashtami
September 2: Ganesh Chaturthi
September 12: Ganesh Visarjan
September 28: Muharram
October 2: Gandhi Jayanti
October 8: Dussehra
October 13: Valmiki Jayanti
October 27: Diwali
November 9-10: Id-e-milad
November 12: Guru Purab
November 23: Guru Nanak Jayanti
November 24: Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur
December 25: Christmas
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