Family-minded India asks for child-free zones

Smoking not allowed. Pets not allowed. Children not allowed. The last is not yet a condition of entry into restaurants, multiplexes and aircraft in famously family-minded India, but many believe it's an idea whose time has come and a trickle of hoteliers and others are starting to provide child-free nirvana for those who want it. Aadisht Khanna, a 25-year-old Mumbai stockbroker is one of the reasons child-unfriendly businesses such as The Tryst, a family-run Coonoor guesthouse, ply their trade. Khanna runs a blog that repeatedly complains about the menace of unruly children and is calling for "business traveller-specific flights, which have an intermediate class between economy and business and use a combination of premium pricing, timing, and actually disallowing children to make the flight child-free". There is also a growing chorus of bloggers and netizens who are calling for adult-only eateries and cafes. Even PG films, they say, should have some screenings without kids. M S Rao, who owns Tryst, is candid about his decision to advertise the tiny guesthouse on the net as a place where children are allowed "only if they're invisible". He says, "Children are not encouraged because most parents especially Indians do not know how to manage or discipline their spawn. They run amok and damage our property, whilst the parents look on unconcerned." Rao dismisses the suggestion child-free hotels are politically incorrect and bad for business in a country that prides itself on child-centred family life. "The Tryst is for relaxation and enjoyment of nature and we cater mostly to foreign clientele. I am sure they would prefer to stay in a child-free zone during their holidays, for obvious reasons". The Tryst is one of a thin but growing trickle of public venues that restrict child entry or at least hedge around it with the sternest of rules. Children under three are barred from Puducherry's Aurobindo Ashram. The Ooty Club in the Nilgiris insists that children roam no further than their parents' room and the children's dining room. Many other clubs across India, including the Calcutta Club, have rules on the same lines. The idea of making restaurants, theatres, and flights child-free is fast catching. Like The Tryst, a family-run Coonoor guesthouse has already providing its guest child-free nirvana. Child-free zones may sound politically incorrect but are perfectly legal. SC lawyer Geeta Luthra says, "Private places can keep the right of entry reserved. All of this so long as they (the rules) are not unreasonable." The pro-child-free zone lobby thinks nothing unreasonable in its campaign. Delhi-based freelance writer Jai Arjun Singh, a familiar internet voice raised against children, says he'd "rather not hear them (or have them picking on the back of my head) in a movie hall. Or see one come across to my table while I'm eating and stare at me continuously". Half in jest he insists this year's Railway Budget was "shockingly timorous" because it lacked "a special provision for sealed compartments for all the little humans. I propose this measure be incorporated."
source: TOI