Durbar to drawing room, a drag narghile hot stuff

Fix it, light it, lie back and drag on it. Once the repose of the royalty, the narghile is emerging as today’s style statement, and shifting from durbars to drawing rooms.

After night clubs made dragging a narghile cool, the craze has caught on with the party people. As a result, many are choosing to come home to the narghile.

With Calcuttans becoming narghile-happy, a revival of sorts has been sparked — from a 121-year-old shop on Rabindra Sarani to a two-year-old counter at Forum.

“Shisha (Arabic for narghile) is a niche product and a current craze. Till four years ago, very few people would have thought of being spotted with a narghile, but after Shisha Bar came up on 22, Camac Street, people now even want to possess one,” says DJ Girish of Shisha.

The more traditional the narghile looks, the stronger the style statement it makes. That’s what is reflected in the sales slope at New Moradabadi Shop, on Rabindra Sarani, established in 1884.

“The profile of the customer has undergone a big change. For the past year or so, on an average, we have been selling more than eight narghiles every day. Our clients are the youth, who pick up the habit at various nargile bars of the city. Then, they come here and purchase the narghiles,” says Atif Kamil.

The shisha pipes available at this narghile haunt, opposite Royal Indian Hotel, are in brass and wear the traditional look. The heavier the narghile, the finer the engravings, the hotter they are.

“These narghiles cost above 5,000. There are also narghiles that cost as low as Rs 250. But we do not deal in the delicate variety. Our narghiles are brought from Moradabad, where these are handmade,” adds Kamil.

At Kriti in Forum, the shisha-for-show crowd goes for the trendy look. “The narghiles we sell are very sleek and modern. They come in various sizes and colours. They have a glass base and a metallic chillum. They are imported from Dubai and cost anything between Rs 300 and Rs 5,000,” says Dhananjay Phumbhra of Kriti.

Adding to the narghile experience is the variety of flavoured tobacco on offer — Cola, Double Apple, Coffee and Vanilla are the preferred ones, while Bacardi and Fuel sell well for alcohol aroma.

“Fixing up a narghile is a specialised job. One has to know the right quantity of water to be put in the base, the right amount of charcoal and tobacco in the chillum,” says Harish Lakhmani of USP Entertainment Solutions, who imports narghiles from Dubai and sells eight a day to Calcuttans, besides bulk private party supplies.

Experiments with narghile truths often prompt the party brigade to replace water with rum or vodka in the base.

“Dragging a narghile gives a modern yet ethnic look. Instead of party-hopping, we often settle for an adda at home, with the narghile,” says Krishna Bajoria of Ballygunge, proud owner of a narghile.