Coffee
time
I usually have my afternoon coffee at around 3 p.m., that is, if I
don’t have a session to handle. Today when I went to have my afternoon cup of
coffee, I found a few of my colleagues and one of them was having a clutch of
newspapers. When I asked him why he was carrying so many papers (I know that he
was not planning on a collage – that is an exercise only for the students to
relieve them from the ennui that we induce through our ‘knowledge imparting’
sessions). He said that he had not read the papers the last few days and was
catching up on them. So I said ‘outstanding’ paper work! This prompted another colleague to say ‘that
is the best part of coffee time; you see how you get new ideas’ I would have perhaps used ‘fresh ideas’ but
then those who are used to American lingo may feel offended, you see. And also
quote ‘Coffee Day – a lot can happen over coffee’. True indeed!
Time was when intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals used to haunt
‘Koshys’ in St. Marks’ Road for coffee/tea. It did not matter whether it was
coffee or tea. Neither of them tasted well at Koshys! The carpet which must be
500 years old (!), the musty smell, the bored waiters- none of them have
changed over the years. I have not been there recently but friends tell me that
it is the very same Koshys still – I wonder if it is the very same coffee that
they serve! But to be seen at Koshys was the in thing those days and perhaps
still is! The British Council library used to be housed above Koshys and so one
could see a number of knowledge seeking folk walk in to the library and then
come down for a cuppa!
I had a friend who was keen on [or should I say madly in love
(though one sided) with] a particular lady colleague and used to seek my help
to get them united. One of my suggestions (how half-baked were my ideas?) was
that we meet at ‘Koshys’ for a cup of coffee – you see I had conjured up ‘a lot
can happen over coffee’ much before Coffee Day chose it as their tag line – I
must perhaps claim royalty from them!
Well, my efforts did help and they are in matrimonial bliss now and hope
that they don’t curse me and the coffee – they asked for it! That was in jest –
they are a happily married couple with two adorable children and are enjoying
the evening of their lives shuttling between Australia and America where the
two children live!
While talking of coffee, how can one forget ‘India Coffee House” in
M.G. Road? It had its ‘regulars’. The ‘fare’ was not very wide. You can get
vegetable cutlet, masala dosa and of course good coffee. The waiters with their
turbans were an attraction. I learn that
when this restaurant had to close thanks to Metro construction on M.G. Road,
many shed tears. Again one of my
colleagues in the bank used to frequent this ICH largely because sitting there,
sipping coffee, you can have a good view of those on the platform and as old
Bangaloreans (or perhaps even the present generation Bangaloreans) will tell
you, the most fashionable people are seen on M.G. Road. [May be like Coleridge
in his ‘Christabel’, I can exclaim ‘a sight to dream of, not to tell’.] Of
course, he always had attractive company, endowed as he himself was with good
looks! Yours truly also used to be a regular at ICH and miss it!
And of course, the one by two coffee that you can get in any of the
hotels in Bangalore! It was the Kamath hotels that started this concept of one
by two and Bangaloreans are known for one by two of anything!
But the simple and uncomplicated coffee can be confusing if you go
to the West where they will asks you hundred questions on the composition of
coffee and you start wondering whether what you have asked for is coffee or
some other concoction. See how Sridevi
was confused in English Vinglish!
And when you order coffee in Starbucks, what is served to you, to
my mind was not coffee and for once my wife agreed with me! After our first
trial at Starbucks, we decided against ordering coffee there and played safe
ordering Hot Chocolate!
And coffee, as South Indians will tell you, is almost the elixir of
life. The day does not begin if you don’t have filter coffee. For most,
newspaper in one hand and coffee in the other is the way to start the day. And
let us be beholden to Coffee Board who have done their bit to promote coffee.
Again the coffee in the Coffee Board canteen on Ambedkar Veedhi is something
that one cannot forget. And I have had the privilege of coffee in the offices
of Coffee Board and have found that the quality of coffee served to visitors
like me kept on increasing with the designation of the person you were meeting
– Accounts Officer, Finance manager, Finance Director and Chairman – the best of course being the one
served in the Chairman’s office!
And the TVs these days, not to be left behind, have shows ‘Kofi
with…’ where generally the discussions are inane but occasionally stuff
befitting the grand status of coffee are also discussed. I chanced to see one
such program.
Recently my son had been to Chickmagalur and brought some pure
coffee (that is, one without a bit of chicory – you see the chicory adds
strength to the coffee). And the coffee I have these days prepared out of this
stuff is great!
And then you see hoardings advertising you of Kumbakonam/Mayavaram
(now known as Myladuthurai – the place where peacocks dance!)) coffee or degree
coffee! I do not know if the inventor of coffee as a drink is a distant cousin
of folks from Kumbakonam but the coffee that is available at Kumbakonam hotels
, I understand, is delicious and so others have used it as a brand name (of
course, detractors of Kumbakonam will tell you that this means something else!).
Strangely, my son and daughter-in-law do not like coffee. For that matter,
when I married my wife was used to Bournvita and became a coffee addict only on
seeing me; see, I have been able to bring about changes!
I recall here a story that I received on my e-mail today about
coffee. It goes like this…
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversations soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. The cups are merely for letting the others know you are having a good coffee. The rest depends on how you enjoy and feel the taste of the coffee!”
MORAL OF THE STORY:
If Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. By concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it. Let us start enjoying “real” coffee!
And on that note, I shall leave you to have your coffee in peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment