NEW DELHI, Dec. 20 -- The young men behind the bar, dressed in black T-shirts, mix drinks and pose for photographs. One of them shakes a cocktail shaker vigorously and pours out a drink with a flourish and a wry grin for the camera. Nearby, a table is occupied by a noisy group of former employees of the popular pub, who have come to sample some of their favourite cocktails-the tart Mangaa or the spicy Rasam Mary-concocted at the first Monkey Bar in the country back in 2012, when it opened in the IT city before branching out to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
On this last Sunday of November, the bar has opened for the final time.
Despite the overall cheer, it is preternaturally quiet. There is no music-there hasn't been for four months. Some of...