When in Chennai, don’t kiss or hug

CHENNAI: This is no liberal metro. Ire against a public display of affection - sparked by photographs of couples kissing in a night club, which were published last Sunday in the eveninger Tamil Murasu -  has led to suspension of the licence of the hotel where the party was hosted.

The controversy took wing when another daily, Dinamalar, reproduced the pictures with an editorial on the "degradation of culture" in the city.

Late on Wednesday, Police Commissioner R Nataraj suspended The Park Hotel's licence for 90 days for 'obscenity' and 'serving drinks after midnight'.

On a writ petition filed by the hotel, Justice D Murugesan of the Madras high court, in an interim order on Thursday, said: "Since the allegations are very serious in nature, it would be only proper for this court to direct the petitioner not to allow any fresh guests in the hotel till the writ is heard and disposed of."

But the hotel insists no rules were broken. "It is not true that drinks were served after midnight," Park's public relations manager Sunitha Menon told DNA. In its petition to the court requesting the cancellation of the licence suspension order, the hotel contended that the licence can be suspended only for breach of its conditions, not for the moral position of government authorities.

But Nataraj told DNA: "If you want to party 24 hours, go to Las Vegas. We are branded spoilsports, but we can't allow hotels to break rules."

High moral ground

Last month, Anna University imposed a dress code on its students. The reason: Girls in skirts and jeans are a distraction to academic excellence.

Early this week, Tamil actor Khushboo was forced to apologise for writing in a magazine column that no educated man would expect his bride to be a virgin.

The High Court is due to give its verdict on The Park's suspended license on Saturday.