‘Dry January’ comes into practice among Chennaiites

Incepted as a means to counter-balance the excessive drinking practice people have during the holiday season (the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve), Dry January – which three million people in the UK are following this year – apparently results in health benefits such as losing weight, better sleep cycles and more stamina.

But what’s more interesting is that some Gen Y members are saving up the money that would have been splashed at pubs or bars – and instead using it for productive purposes.

Kumar Bala, a writer in the city, said, “I first came across it last year on Facebook when several of my friends in the UK were using the hashtag #DryJanuary. This time around, I wanted to give it a real go as people are combining their New Year resolutions along with the idea. For instance, if you roughly spend Rs 3,000 a month on alcohol – why not use the cash on taking up a new hobby? I’ve decided to take up art – and have purchased watercolours, charts and brushes for the amount.”

Others like dancer H Sanjana, are using the idea to stay fitter. “No alcohol plus more gym time! I’ve bought myself new running shoes as well as track pants to motivate me better.”

But most interesting of all is that some groups of friends are planning to dedicate their ‘alcohol abstinence’ savings to charity. Nikhil Murthy, an architect, said that all his friends have decided to pool in their saved money at the end of the month and donate it to a children’s home in town.

“This way, we feel even better about the cause, and it may even inspire us to give up alcohol longer. We just visited the orphanage yesterday, and it really warmed our hearts to learn that we could fund a week of their food supplies by not going out on a pub-crawl a single night. Dry January has taken on a whole new meaning for us now.”