Pubdate: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 Source: Hindustan Times (India) Copyright: 2005, Hindustan Times Ltd. Contact: http://www.hindustantimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/910 Author: Sidhi Chadha Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) 'MOST DELHI P3P ARE DRUG USERS' The capital's bold and beautiful people may be guilty as charged. While insisting that a selective crackdown on lounge bars and glitterati is unfair, leading hair fashion expert Jawed Habib admits a majority of Page3 regulars are addicted to drugs. But that doesn't stop him from being bitter about the fact that after a recent bust at the Olive Bar and Kitchen in Mehrauli, a senior official of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told media that 'sare darzis (fashion designers) aur nai (hairstylists)' were involved in substance abuse. "You have to understand that a majority of Page 3 people are drug users. I can assure you of that. Then why just attack fashion designers and hairstylists? It is in very bad taste and can have adverse effects," says Habib. The fact that Dev Chopra, the man arrested with 15 gm of cocaine on Thursday, was reportedly waiting to strike a deal with a Mumbai-based model, has again brought the fashion fraternity the kind of publicity it didn't need, especially so soon after designer-choreographer Prasad Bidappa's brush with the Dubai police and high-flying Provogue owner Salil Chaturvedi's imbroglio in Mumbai. Nevertheless rampwalker Sharan Mishra still thinks it's wrong to single out and malign any one profession. "All these things do happen at parties, but then drug abuse is a worldwide phenomenon. I have even seen beggars snort coke! You can't point fingers only at famous faces. Just because people from the fashion industry are always in the limelight, they become soft targets for whoever wants to have a go," she claims. Emcee Ramneek Pantal shares Sharan's indignation. "As soon as a scandal rocks the city, there's a natural assumption that someone from the world of fashion and glitz is involved. If there are a few bad apples around, does that mean everyone is to blame? Delhi Police seems to be selectively targeting the fashion industry and that's certainly not acceptable," she says. Despite murmurings of widespread drug abuse in the fashion world, Delhi-based designer Puja Nayyar thinks law enforcement agencies should be expending their time and energy elsewhere. "Why have the cops suddenly developed so much zeal for lounges and celebrities? Have they ever thought about how unsafe Delhi has become for women? What are the they doing in this regard?" she fumes. In fact Nayyar wants understanding rather than a blanket condemnation for people who lead high-profile lives under constant stress: "Those directly or indirectly connected to the fashion world, are trapped. When it comes to crimes like these, anyone can do it. Lifestyle too plays an important part. Since people in the fashion industry have late nights and are working till the wee hours, there's a certain misconception that they dabble in drugs and psychotropic substances. I don't deny that nothing of the sort goes on. Drug abuse does happen, but it depends from individual to individual. May be some feel the need to use drugs to alleviate emotional and personal problems. Who knows?" Jattin Kochhar goes a step further. According to him, few in the fashion industry trouble themselves with details like who is addicted to what. "Although I myself have no personal knowledge, it is possible that drug use could be happening in the fashion industry. There are several reasons for this. Creative people are often insecure, lack responsibility and are loners. Most designers are single and have no family. Perhaps this is what encourages them to look to drugs for solace. Moreover India isn't the only place where cocaine is bought and sold. But in our country, we are wont to sensationalise things. And finally, it doesn't really bother anyone in the fashion industry. It is the work we do that counts," says Kochhar. - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman