J&K’s fun-loving youth invites private investments in entertainment sector
Many Valley youth have been attracted to "Winner's Dinner," a PUBG-themed restaurant and cafe set up by a group of friends in the Raj Bagh area of Srinagar.
S
rinagar: In the midst of increasing public concern about the side effects of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), a restaurant running on the theme of the popular online game in the capital Srinagar has become a new heartthrob of Kashmiri youth.
PUBG is a 2017 multiplayer online royal battle game developed and released by the South Korean video game company Bluehole, PUBG Corporation. The game inspired by the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale has become popular among young people particularly. In reality, with over 100 million downloads in India and over 200 million downloads worldwide, it has taken the gaming industry by storm. But, parents across the country have sought a complete ban on the game on the plea that it encourages immoral behavior such as violence, murder, aggression, looting, gaming addiction and cyber bullying.
WHO’s ICD 11 has also warned that depression, insomnia, migraines and headaches, spondylitis and even substance abuse as a consequence of compulsive disorder are the side effects which can be caused by PUBG addiction. Psychiatrists claim addiction to these games can cause the need for drugs, and eventually lead to health deterioration.
Remembering the risks, however, the mobile game has also become an instant hit in Kashmir where there are hardly any entertainment avenues available to its youth. Even the Valley movie theaters have been shut down since the separatist movement broke out into a big violence in 1989-90 and a government helped botched down attempts to reopen them a decade ago.
In the meantime, many Valley youth have been attracted to “Winner’s Dinner,” a PUBG-themed restaurant and cafe set up by a group of friends in the Raj Bagh area of Srinagar. The place is decorated with camouflage clothes and tables in the war room, even the pans were specially built based on the game. The walls were riddled with PUBG pictures and maps. “Winner’s Dinner” has toy guns, helmets and jackets with armours. Many of the people coming here wear it to take pictures. We even take selfies with the waiters who find themselves dressed in military fatigues too.
In PUBG a individual who wins a game is served “Chicken Dinner.” He or she is not necessarily served any chicken dinner but by succeeding in the game it’s more like a title the winner gets after murdering people and declaring the “chicken dinner.” But here at “Winner’s Dinner,” “chicken dinner” is a popular meal served to guests, aside from other food items named after the game’s various levels. “Kashmir got its ‘chicken dinner’ for real and the PUBG fans couldn’t have asked for more,” said Moazzam Meraj, one of the three friends who managed to set up a cum café restaurant in just three months against all odds including initial opposition from their parents. “The theme-based café attracts children and adults alike to come and experience the excitement,” he said.
Fasil, a youth from the city, said, “I am their regular customer. Because I’m very fond of playing this game I come here very frequently. You sound as if you’re part of the (PUBG) game here. Anything you find in this game is connected to.“ He added, When we eat here we feel we are also playing the game. We are getting great pleasure from that.
Soban, a student, corroborated him and said that while getting ‘Chicken Dinner’ here, he also felt like he was in the “battle-ground.” “I feel like I’m on battlefield with my team, battling and enjoying chicken dinner at the same time. It looks real,” he said.
Governor Satyapal Malik recently claimed the Kashmiri youth resort to the gun because they don’t have much to do in the evening.
“Even in Srinagar city, the youth have nothing to do after 6 pm. We don’t have a cinema hall, cafes or a place to go out for entertainment,” he said while addressing village heads recently elected in winter capital Jammu. While criticized by various political parties for trying to blame the Kashmiri youth’s growing trend of joining militancy rather than recognizing their politically motivated dissatisfaction, Mr Malik is reportedly keen on opening movie duplexes and other entertainment centers in Srinagar.
He also promised to carve out playgrounds in every village. The governor’s administration will also welcome private investment in entertainment sector.
