The little House on M.G. Road

When I read the news about The India Coffee House closing operations on M.G.Road, my first thoughts were of a close friend to whom visiting this unprepossessing cafe is almost a ritual.

I remember my irritation at his all too frequent phone calls apologizing for being late at our meetings almost every Friday; that is until one day he revealed that sometimes his weekly Friday breakfast with friends at India Coffee House extended and he had to call in late. The avid romantic in me instantly forgave and forgot :-)
He also went on to tell how every Sunday, after the morning service at his church he spent hours at the Coffee House over a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and tea (oh yes, they had fabulous tea too!)

It became almost a habit with me too, though I preferred their soft and spicy masala dosas and soggy vegetable cutlets. Pub-savvy friends never understood our adoration with this almost shanty place, but anyone who likes history will definitely get attached!

The looks, ambiance, history and culture of the place have all been very well discussed and described in several articles available online; this post of Wikipedia, this one in Times of India and this in The Deccan Herald.

As some of these articles say, irrespective of whether you idled over a single cup of coffee, or have a continual stream of dishes arriving at your table, it was immaterial as to how many hours you sat there. Even when it was crowded (unbelievable as it may sound, certain hours of the day had long waiting queues, despite it being 2 floored!) there was no sense of hurrying the patrons, although the waiters waiting tables perceptibly increased their gait.

All you needed was an interesting book, the crisp early morning and a window seat on the upper floor of the Coffee House. The rare sight of an empty M.G Road, devoid of honking vehicles, parked bumper-to-bumper with bustling people sauntering amid always brought a sense of wonderment at how the road would fill up during rush hours. On winter mornings, the east end of the M.G.Road shone with the rising sun while the dome of the Vidhan Soudha glittered in the refracted light at the west.

As if all this wasn't enough to seduce a romantic heart, one day I suddenly noticed a glass of rose milk on the next table; it was light baby pink with with little pink hearts! That did it.. and the place became a must-visit for every adventerous relative/friend who visited me! On par with Koshy's and Firangi Paani!

My parents, sister, her family, my brother, my husband; all of them have been cajoled into that place by me at some time or another, and after the first experience have never needed any more coercion to return.

When the news appeared that the Coffee House would shut shop on M.G Road and hopefully resume sometime soon on Avenue road there was a flurry of phone calls from USA to India with the news, and for the duration of that call we fleetingly smelled the strong aroma of coffee and once again tasted the insipid vegetable sandwiches :-)