The border between India and Nepal, barring moments of political tension, has been an example of how an open policy helps frontier people enjoy wider economic choices. That openness has been particularly welcomed by local drinkers since Bihar banned alcohol in 2016
A shop selling bottles of Nepali alcohol, with labels that often copy designs from well know international brands, near Maruwai, Nepal, April 15, 2022. Since the Indian state of Bihar banned alcohol in 2016, a small industry of bars and restaurants has sprung up just across the border in Nepal, catering to Indians of all classes seeking to quench their thirst. Image: Saumya Khandelwal/The New York Times
AT THE NEPAL-INDIA BORDER — As the afternoon heat gives way to a pleasant evening breeze, a palpable shift starts to happen in the makeup of the crowd flowing from India into Nepal across an open border.
At first, there are Nepalis, a large number of them women, returning home after a quick shopping trip for cheaper goods and groceries on the Indian side. Two women in colorful saris split the load of a heavy bag, gripping one handle each. A man carries a fan in the back of a cycle rickshaw, its blades spinning in the wind; another pedals his bicycle with a single watermelon fastened to its back.
But as it starts to grow dark, a large share of the crowd crossing the border are men who come mostly empty-handed. Men with government jobs, shirts tucked in and shoes polished in the morning, who are dropped off at the border in their vehicles. And men who pedal their bicycles with heavy legs and heavy thoughts, the tools of their daily trade dangling in a bag from the handle.
These are Indian men entering Nepal for a drink or two — or as many as they can squeeze in before the police blow a whistle and the roadside bars close around 9 p.m.
A man drinks Nepali-made alcohol in a mango orchard along the border with India, near Maruwai, Nepal, April 15, 2022. Since the Indian state of Bihar banned alcohol in 2016, a small industry of bars and restaurants has sprung up just across the border in Nepal, catering to Indians of all classes seeking to quench their thirst. Image: Saumya Khandelwal/The New York Times
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