By Rohini Mohan Devendran Menon stood on a pavement in central Thiruvananthapuram, watching two young men on ladders gingerly take down a neon board that said "Sridevi Bar." It was a humid April evening and as Menon looked down into his shirt pocket for a handkerchief to wipe his sweaty forehead, the board came crashing down. Shattered glass was everywhere and a tube light tore through the Kingfisher hovering over 'Sridevi.' The young men began to nervously apologise, but Menon waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright," he said. "My business is already destroyed. This is only the board now." Menon's was among 418 bars that closed in July last year when the Kerala government refused to...
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