Almost everyone we know is headed to Pune this weekend (October 18 to 20, 2013) for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival. If not this weekend, they’re booking train and bus tickets to Delhi, Kolkata or Bengaluru for later. What’s the one thing that is synonymous with a music festival (if you’re above 25 in Maharashtra)? Copious amounts of alcohol followed by a nasty hangover. Well, since avoiding that hangover isn’t going to be much of an option for these next three days, here’s a handy guide to getting over them before you pour yourself another glass.
- Water
Getting over a hangover, starts even before the nausea kicks in. You can’t carry your drinks outside the drinking enclosures but keep a bottle of water handy at all times. Don’t fill it with anything but water. Sip from it between drinks and don’t let yourself feel dehydrated. Drink an additional litre before you go to sleep. The other thing you need to make sure of is that you know where the portable toilets are before you start hopping and crossing your legs.
- Toast
After a night of debauchery, your stomach feels the same way as it did when you were sick as a kid. Remember what Mom gave you then - clear soup and dry toast. With or without the soup the dry toast serves as a good hangover cure. What it does is very simple. The carbs in the bread raise your blood sugar levels and ease that feeling of irritability.
- Orange Juice
Orange juice kills two birds with one stone. Along with leaving you feeling dehydrated, alcohol also lowers the amount of vitamin C in your body making you feel tired and drained out. Orange juice is basically a mix of Vitamin C and water. Even if you don’t fancy it too much, pinch your nose and gulp it down.
- Paracetamol
A painkiller can help with the headaches and muscle cramps that you will feel all over your body. Unless you know that Asprin works for you, choose a paracetamol based pain killer. They are usually preferable as Asprin can further irritate the stomach if it doesn’t suit you.
- Bananas
The morning after usually is not one when you feel like eating a lot. A banana is the easiest thing to eat and if you feel too bilious to eat even that, make a smoothie out of it. Bananas are not only food to fill your stomach but also an excellent way to replenish your lost potassium and electrolytes.
Hangover cured? Now get out of your hotel rooms and explore Pune’s food scene before heading back to the festival grounds. Some of the restaurants not to be missed out on are Vahuman Café for a mouth watering breakfast (if you wake up in time for it), Burger Barn, Malaka Spice and Tertulias in Koregaon Park and ofcourse the Doolally brewery. This isn’t all that Pune has on its plate but for that you would need to spend another weekend here focusing on just the food.
- Bacardi NH7 Weekender will be held from October 18 to 20, Laxmi Lawns, Pune. Entry Rs 3750. Details here.
