Happy New Hangover

So, the biggest night of the year is upon us and in an effort to remain hangover free - as I have been for the whole of the festive season - I will be taking a couple of 'PartySmarts' before the drinking gets underway.  (Please just click on the PartySmart link to see the hilarious cart-wheeling stick-figures who are clearly having a much livelier night than I ever plan to have!)  We are heading to a fabulous restaurant where, for the princely sum of $150 per head, we can chug as much Moet as we like, eat a nine-course dinner, and hopefully not get ejected by the Police at the Bangalore 'witching-hour' of 11:30 pm.  Apparently for about $600 restaurants and bars can get an hour extension, after which, no doubt the local constabulary could be persuaded to let them stay open a little longer for about Rs.600.  I have come to the conclusion that given a bottle of Moet retails here at about $150 per bottle, this restaurant will be losing a large amount of their profits at our table... Anyway, I decided to find out what was in PartySmarts as I've taken them a few times with considerable success (albeit one time I took it with my first drink, versus half an hour before as prescribed).  For 25 cents per pill, I get a whole bunch of Ayurvedic 'stuff' that will 'provide liver protection and prevent hangover symptoms...'  I was a little alarmed when none of the ingredients appeared on Wikipedia, but then found an Ayurvedic list of herbs which put me out of my misery - kind of.  First up, Kharjura, which is dates and I guess is good for you because of the sugars; Kasni is chicory and acts as a brain tonic (maybe I should take every day?) and is 'useful in headaches and checking bilious vomiting' - always a good thing; Yavatikta is something called 'the creat' and has been shown to increase liver weight in rats....; Draksha is grapes, which I'm not sure I need as I will be drinking plenty of their by-product tonight; Amalaki is Indian gooseberry, which increases your resistance; and finally, the oddest of all, is Bhumyamalaki which has no English translation but is good for scabby affections and a diuretic in gonorrhea - I guess that's a preventative in case it all goes horribly wrong and you get up to no good post-drinking!!!  So, it is with PartySmart and free-flowing Moet in hand that I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and hope that none of you have need for Bhumyamalaki in 2008!